Stanley Park

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.

Aspiring young chef Jeremy Papier will do almost anything to keep his high-end Vancouver restaurant afloat. Jeremy, who views cooking as gang warfare, is a self-styled "Blood" — a believer in preparing innovative dishes from fresh, local ingredients. He has only contempt for the "Crips" who bend 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 a powerful coffee-shop magnate who transforms his beloved bistro into a pretentious "Crip" palace. Mix in Jeremy's eccentric professor father, a group of homeless men with a taste for stewed raccoon, and the decades-old mystery of two children murdered in Stanley Park, and you have a tantalizing concoction of satire and suspense.