Papa consumed finely minced spread (4)
I believe the answer is:
pate
'spread' is the definition.
(I know that pate is a type of spread)
'papa consumed' is the wordplay.
'papa' becomes 'P' (NATO / phonetic alphabet).
'consumed' becomes 'ate' (to eat is to consume food).
'p'+'ate'='PATE'
'finely minced' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pate that I've seen before include "Savoury paste; head" , "Meat paste, maybe de fois gras" , "Meat paste, perhaps de foie gras" , "Head - meat spread" , "loaf" .)