Crossword Genius

Staff eating desire protective equipment, tucking into a chilli

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cayenne pepper

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'tucking into a chilli' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'staff eating desire protective equipment' is the wordplay.
'staff' becomes 'cane' (I've seen this before).
'eating' indicates putting letters inside.
'desire' becomes 'yen' (yen is a kind of desire).
'protective equipment' becomes 'pepper' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'cane' placed around 'yen' is 'cayenne'.
'cayenne'+'pepper'='CAYENNE-PEPPER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cayenne pepper that I've seen before include "Powder from capsicums" , "Pungent spice" , "Hot condiment" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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