Most of the dish on paper is a level above the rest (8)
I believe the answer is:
platform
'a level above the rest' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'most of the dish on paper' is the wordplay.
'most of' means to remove the last letter.
'the dish' becomes 'plate' (plate is a kind of dish).
'on paper' becomes 'form' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'plate' with its last letter taken away is 'plat'.
'plat'+'form'='PLATFORM'
'is' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for platform that I've seen before include "Raised stand" , "Part of Victoria" , "Raised horizontal surface" , "declared party policy" , "Raised dais" .)