Tried hot meal set out - by him? (6,6)

I believe the answer is:

maitre dhotel

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'him?' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'tried hot meal set out' is the wordplay.
'set out' is an anagram indicator.
'tried'+'hot'+'meal'='triedhotmeal'
'triedhotmeal' anagrammed gives 'MAITRE DHOTEL'.

'by' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for maitre dhotel that I've seen is " Head waiter or steward".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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