Top meal without starter succeeded in test (9)
I believe the answer is:
uppermost
'top meal' is the definition.
'uppermost' can be an answer for 'top' (I've seen this in another clue). I'm not certain of the 'meal' bit.
'without starter succeeded in test' is the wordplay.
'without starter' becomes 'upper' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'succeeded' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'test' becomes 'MOT' (as in an MOT test for a vehicle).
's' put into 'mot' is 'most'.
'upper'+'most'='UPPERMOST'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for uppermost that I've seen before include "Highest in place or rank" , "get to top" , "On top or first in the mind" , "Highest or most prominent" , "Support me being on top" .)