Starter of gourmet Polish food (4)
I believe the answer is:
grub
'food' is the definition.
(grub can informally mean food)
'starter of gourmet polish' is the wordplay.
'starter of' suggests taking the first letters.
'polish' becomes 'rub' (polish meaning rub to make shiny).
The initial letter of 'gourmet' is 'g'.
'g'+'rub'='GRUB'
(Other definitions for grub that I've seen before include "food, commonly" , "Gentle, food" , "Nosh - larva" , "Larva; food (sl.)" , "Eats - larva" .)