Order hot items for starters and a cherry pudding (9)
I believe the answer is:
hierarchy
'order' is the definition.
(hierarchy is a kind of order)
'hot items for starters and a cherry pudding' is the wordplay.
'for starters' indicates taking the first letters.
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'pudding' indicates anagramming the letters (a mixture or pudding of the letters).
The first letters of 'hot items' is 'hi'.
'a'+'cherry'='acherry'
'acherry' is an anagram of 'erarchy'.
'hi'+'erarchy'='HIERARCHY'
(Other definitions for hierarchy that I've seen before include "System with layers of grades of authority" , "Governing levels of organisation" , "Pecking order" , "priesthood" , "System with grades of authority ranking one above another" .)