Bloods and Crips...

In answer to your question, Timothy Taylor introduced the concept of Bloods and Crips to describe two camps of chefs in his novel Stanley Park, about the trials and tribulations of a young chef in Vancouver. I don't even take credit for this factoid, as the book was a Christmas gift from schmandrea.

Regardless, in his latest book, The Nasty Bits, Anthony Bourdain has the following to say on the subject:

"Taylor's protagonist breaks down the world of chefs into two camps: the Crips - transnationalists, for whom ingredients from faraway lands are an asset, people who cook without borders or limitations, constantly seeking innovative ways to combine the old with the new - and the Bloods, for whom terroir and a solid, rigorous connection to the immediate region and its seasons are an overriding concern. "Crips" would describe chefs like Norman Van Aken, Nobu Matsuhisa, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, guys who want the ingredient, at its best, wherever it might come from and however long it might have traveled, practitioners of 'fusion'."

As for Bourdain's own inclinations, well, he seems to be sitting on the fence. For while he suggests that Bloods are more likely to cook with integrity, seeking to nurture rather than dazzle, he displays a healthy cynicism for old-school French stuffiness and the organic movement and declares that, "Fully conscious of the evil that men do in the name of food, I have a very hard time caring when confronted with an impeccably fresh piece of codfish."

But whether The Game or G-Unit would prefer stacks or foie-gras, I have no idea.....

See also:

• Food
• Bloods
• Crips
• chefs