Was the creator of cheese from the East? (4)
I believe the answer is:
made
'was the creator of' is the definition.
'cheese from the east?' is the wordplay.
'cheese' becomes 'edam' (Edam is an example).
'from the east?' says the letters should be written in reverse (I've seen 'from the east' mean this).
'edam' reversed gives 'MADE'.
(Other definitions for made that I've seen before include "Performed" , "Fabricated" , "Manufactured" , "Constructed" , "brought about" .)