Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

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.