Fraud by French department supplying starter course (8)
I believe the answer is:
consomme
'starter course' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'fraud by french department' is the wordplay.
'fraud' becomes 'con' (con is a kind of fraud).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'french department' becomes 'somme' (**).
'con'+'somme'='CONSOMME'
'supplying' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for consomme that I've seen before include "Clear soup usually of beef, veal or chicken" , "Clear French meat soup" , "Clear soup made with concentrated stock" , "liquid course" , "starter course" .)