Meals he baited (6)
I believe the answer is:
teased
'baited' is the definition.
('tease' can be a synonym of 'bait')
'meals he' is the wordplay.
'meals' becomes 'teas' (tea is a kind of meal).
'he' becomes 'ed'.
'teas'+'ed'='TEASED'
(Other definitions for teased that I've seen before include "Baited or bantered" , "Sedate (anag.)" , "Poked fun" , "Provoked, being sedate" , "Mocked playfully" .)