Praise cook drinking coffee (8)
I believe the answer is:
flattery
'praise' is the definition.
(flattery is a kind of praise)
'cook drinking coffee' is the wordplay.
'cook' becomes 'fry' (I've seen this before).
'drinking' indicates putting letters inside.
'coffee' becomes 'latte' (I've seen this before).
'fry' enclosing 'latte' is 'FLATTERY'.
(Other definitions for flattery that I've seen before include "phony praise" , "Fawning, false praise" , "Mendacious praise" , "Compliments" , "''Imitation is the sincerest form of . . . . . . . .'' (8)" .)