Crossword Genius

French food that is to the rear of British (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

brie

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'french food' is the definition.
'brie' can be an answer for 'food' (Brie is an example). I'm unsure of the 'french' bit.

'that is to the rear of british' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'british' could be 'br' (abbreviation for British) and 'br' is found in the answer.
'that is' could be 'ie' (short for Latin 'id est', 'that is') and 'ie' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for brie that I've seen before include "Variety of cheese" , "cheese-producing region" , "Soft and creamy mild white cheese" , "Soft, creamy French cheese" , "dairy product" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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