Head cook takes the writer in (5)
I believe the answer is:
chief
'in' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'head cook takes the writer' is the wordplay.
'head cook' becomes 'chef' (I've seen this in another clue).
'takes' is an insertion indicator.
'the writer' becomes 'I' (the person who is writing these clues).
'chef' placed around 'i' is 'CHIEF'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for chief that I've seen before include "Boss" , "cardinal" , "Principal" , "arch" , "Organisation head" .)