Get to grips with missing the French food (4)
I believe the answer is:
tack
'food' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'get to grips with missing the french' is the wordplay.
'get to grips with' becomes 'tackle' (I've seen this before).
'missing' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'the french' becomes 'le'.
'tackle' with 'le' taken out is 'TACK'.
(Other definitions for tack that I've seen before include "pin" , "Turn and sail into the wind" , "Small nail with broad head" , "Staple - food" , "Keep changing course" .)