Tess says ... "I cooked bacon and lamb!" (9)

I believe the answer is:

essayists

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

'bacon and lamb' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'tess says i cooked' is the wordplay.
'cooked' is an anagram indicator.
'tess'+'says'+'i'='tesssaysi'
'tesssaysi' anagrammed gives 'ESSAYISTS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for essayists that I've seen before include "They write" , "Writers on various subjects" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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