Crossword Genius

Flavour of pantries, after refurbishment, captivating Mike (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spearmint

'flavour' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'pantries after refurbishment captivating mike' is the wordplay.
'after refurbishment' indicates an anagram.
'captivating' is an insertion indicator (I've seen this in other clues).
'mike' becomes 'm' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'pantries' with letters rearranged gives 'spearint'.
'spearint' going around 'm' is 'SPEARMINT'.

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for spearmint that I've seen before include "Aromatic herb" , "fresh flavour" , "Garden flavouring" , "Herb used for flavouring" , "Strongly flavoured herb" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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