Dire fare cooked only for a few (8)
I believe the answer is:
rarefied
'only for a few' is the definition.
'dire fare cooked' is the wordplay.
'cooked' indicates anagramming the letters.
'dire'+'fare'='direfare'
'direfare' anagrammed gives 'RAREFIED'.
(Other definitions for rarefied that I've seen before include "Exalted; exclusive; thin" , "Thinner than usual like air on high mountain" , "Not in great quantity" , "Of air, thin as on high mountain" , "Thin; very refined" .)