The Underdog
by Felicity Cloake· 2026
Felicity Cloake turns her attention to fiction with this romcom about a wannabe-chef stuck in a North London cafe and the dog-loving doctor who catches her eye. A romcom and coming of age story set in London’s restaurant scene.
Katie is thirty-six, has recently been dumped by her fiancé and abandoned a career to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. After a year of cookery school and months in Michelin-star kitchens, she finds herself making sandwiches in a north London café and stuck in a situationship with a twentysomething who thinks he’s the next star of The Bear.
Then, a doctor strolls in and orders an espresso. Katie is briefly charmed… until she sees the scruffy mutt at his feet. Katie 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 Katie’s life upside down, will she ever see Dip, Alan or the inside of a kitchen again?
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Felicity Cloake turns her attention to fiction with this romcom about a wannabe-chef stuck in a North London cafe and the dog-loving doctor who catches her eye. A romcom and coming of age story set in London’s restaurant scene. Katie is thirty-six, has recently been dumped by her fiancé and abandoned a career to pursue her dream of becoming a chef. After a year of cookery school and months in Michelin-star kitchens, she finds herself making sandwiches in a north London café and stuck in a situationship with a twentysomething who thinks he’s the next star of The Bear. Then, a doctor strolls in and orders an espresso. Katie is briefly charmed… until she sees the scruffy mutt at his feet. Katie 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 Katie’s life upside down, will she ever see Dip, Alan or the inside of a kitchen again?