Natural ability to cook pud and eat it (8)
I believe the answer is:
aptitude
'natural ability' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'cook pud and eat it' is the wordplay.
'cook' indicates anagramming the letters.
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'eat'+'it'='eatit'
'pud' after 'eatit' is 'eatitpud'.
'eatitpud' with letters rearranged gives 'APTITUDE'.
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for aptitude that I've seen before include "Flair" , "fitness" , "Update it, having a relevant talent" , "Inherent ability, natural talent" , "Natural gift" .)