Wow academic bishop with currency of very high distinction (6,4)
I believe the answer is:
cordon bleu
'of very high distinction' is the definition.
'wow academic bishop with currency' is the wordplay.
'wow' becomes 'cor'.
'academic' becomes 'don' (I've seen this before**).
'bishop' becomes 'b' (abbreviation used in chess).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'currency' becomes 'leu' (currency of Romania).
'cor'+'don'+'b'+'leu'='CORDON BLEU'
(Other definitions for cordon bleu that I've seen before include "Of the highest culinary order" , "Old bouncer (anag)" , "High-class cookery" , "distinguished chef" , "(Of cookery) very high standard" .)