The Underdog

Author: Felicity Cloake

London, Greater London

Published on 7 May 2026 by HarperCollins Publishers (Fourth Estate).

Hardback |
240 x 159 | 400g

The debut novel from the multi-award-winning food writer.'Food. Romance. Dogs. There is literally nothing not to love in this novel' Emma Freud 'Brilliantly fun, witty and warm' Emma HughesSometimes life doesn't follow a recipe...Katy is thirty-six, has recently been dumped by her dull-yet-deceitful fiance and in a (not-unrelated) moment of madness, abandoned a Solid, Decently Paid Career to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. But, after a year of expensive cookery school and months in Michelin-star kitchens blow-drying edible ferns for free, she finds herself making sandwiches (heritage duck egg and black garlic mayonnaise on sourdough, admittedly, but sandwiches all the same) in a north London cafe and stuck in an ill-advised situationship with a twentysomething who thinks he's his generation's answer to Marco Pierre White.Then, a gorgeous doctor strolls in and orders an espresso. Katy is briefly charmed... until she sees the scruffy mutt at his feet. Katy hates dogs - and Dr Dipesh never goes anywhere without Alan. Can she overlook this major red flag? Will she ever convince her mother she's not having a midlife crisis? And, when a drunken mishap involving a restaurant critic turns Katy's life upside down, will she ever see Dip, Alan or the inside of a kitchen again?