Initially works well as a cooking utensil (3)
I believe the answer is:
wok
'a cooking utensil' is the definition.
(wok is a kind of cooking utensil)
'initially works well' is the wordplay.
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
'well' becomes 'ok' ('O.K.' can be a synonym of 'well').
The first letter of 'works' is 'w'.
'w'+'ok'='WOK'
'as' is the link.
(Other definitions for wok that I've seen before include "A Chinese large-bowled frying pan" , "pot" , "Chinese cooking pan" , "Pan used in Chinese cookery" , "Large Chinese frying pan" .)