The Underdog

THE DEBUT NOVEL FROM THE AWARD-WINNING FOOD WRITER

'IRRESISTIBLY FUNNY, SEXY AND CHARMING' AMY KEY

'A JOY TO READ' RUKMINI IYER

'THE FUNNY SLOW-BURN LOVE STORY YOU NEED TO START SUMMER PROPERLY' RED

Sometimes life doesn't follow a recipe…

Katy is thirty-six, has recently been dumped by her dull-yet-deceitful fiancé 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 café 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?

© 2026 Fourth Estate (Audiobook): 9780008695323

Release date

Audiobook: 7 May 2026