Betty Quan’s full-cast dramatization of Timothy Taylor’s sizzling first novel reveals the dark side of fine dining. Alessandro Juiliani stars as Jeremy Papier, a brilliant young Parisian-trained chef, who will do almost anything to keep his high-end Vancouver restaurant, Monkey’s Paw Bistro, afloat. Jeremy, who views the cooking industry in terms of gang warfare, is a self-styled “Blood,” a believer in preparing unpretentious dishes from fresh, local ingredients. He has nothing but contempt for the “Crips” who bow to every passing food fad.

But when his latest financial scam fails, Jeremy is forced to strike a deal with the devil in the form of Dante Beale (played by Scott Hylands), the owner of an undeniably “Crip” chain of gourmet coffee shops. Mix in Jeremy’s eccentric professor father who lives with the homeless in Stanley Park and a decades-old mystery involving two murdered children, and you have a tantalizing concoction of satire and suspense.

Author

Winner of the Journey Prize for his short fiction, Timothy Taylor grew up in Vancouver and Edmonton and worked for several years as a banker in Toronto before becoming a full-time writer. Stanley Park was finalist for the 2001 Giller Prize.

Betty Quan is a Canadian screenwriter and playwright.

Details

2 pages
Pub date: April 13, 2004