Start talking about gumbo, and you find the only constant is that everybody makes theirs differently.

He thinks seafood in gumbo is heretical, while she thinks one without it isn't worth the bowl it's served in. She wouldn't sprinkle filé in the gumbo while it's still in the cook pot; he thinks okra beats filé as a thickener every time. And get a chef talking about the colors of roux, and it sounds as if he's reciting Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem Sweeties."

Walnut or cocoa, let me repeat: caramel, brown sugar, a chocolate treat ...

It's hard not to think about gumbo at this time of year, when Mardi Gras is right around the corner. And New Orleans, still very much a wounded city, won't stop trying to win back residents who fled the city after Katrina. They took little pieces of the city's culinary history with them. Some of those survivors, such as Qiana Crump, call Atlanta home now, and in this new home they are determined to have gumbo their way this Fat Tuesday. Then there are those like Linton Hopkins, chef at Restaurant Eugene in south Buckhead, who aren't New Orleans natives but who learned to cook gumbo like one.

The best gumbo makers abide by a few basics for success — most notably, mastering the roux. But beyond that, "rules can go out the window," Hopkins said. "It's a metaphor for bringing people together."

Gumbo comes from an African word, "kingombo," meaning okra. And though most people associate it with Louisiana, versions of the dish also abound in the South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry. "Gumbo is totally regional, but the truth is wherever the slave trade went, okra went, and you'll usually find a form of gumbo there," said Poppy Tooker, a noted cooking instructor and founder of the New Orleans Slow Food Convivium. "That means the Caribbean, Haiti, Brazil, Louisiana."

Glen Bray, 47, of Columbus grew up eating gumbo loaded with okra made by his mother, who'd spent her childhood on a farm between Lake Charles and Lafayette, La. For her own children's meals, she'd walk to the local farmers market and come back with a bagful of pods, small and tender.

"Gumbo would be one of the main things we'd eat during the week," Bray said.

On this point, however, most folks who make gumbo agree: There are three possible thickeners for gumbo: okra, filé and roux. They are often used singly, although sometimes they are combined.

When sliced into rounds and stirred for a good while in a pot, the namesake pods break down and thicken the liquid, giving the dish body and rich flavor. Filé, on the other hand, is made of finely ground sassafras leaves and is added in either the final minutes of cooking or sprinkled on after it's served. It imparts a keen, distinct flavor akin to that of tea.

Then there's roux, which is essentially flour and butter. Or flour and vegetable oil. Or flour and shortening or lard. No matter the fat, it's typically stirred in a cast-iron skillet and can vary in shade from caramel to near coffee black. It's as essential as a pot to many cooks.

Qiana Crump makes a kitchen-sink gumbo that has nearly every barnyard animal and sea creature known. She and her husband moved to Jonesboro after they lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. She makes gumbo the way her grandmother taught her, and her grandmother has a cardinal rule.

"My grandmother says, if it's not made with roux, it's gutter water," Crump said.

Hopkins knows what she means. He learned how to make gumbo while a young chef in New Orleans working in the kitchens of Mr. B's Bistro and the Grill Room at the Windsor Court Hotel. He says that's where he learned to tame the "jealous mistress" that is roux, referring to the fact that once the butter starts to bubble and the flour is sifted in, the cook is tied to the stove for the next 30 to 45 minutes.

"You can cook roux quickly, but you pay for it in flavor," Hopkins said. "And with gumbo, what you're doing is building flavor. Sometimes I challenge myself on how dark I can go with my roux. But if you smell char, you have to throw it out and start over. You don't want it bitter."

Once you achieve this step, whatever else is put in a gumbo depends upon who is making it. It's supposed to be a one-pot dish combining whatever the cook has at hand. Tooker says seafood gumbo is considered a "city" version, while chicken and sausage is a "country" staple. There's a "gumbo z'herbes," made almost entirely of leafy greens and served as a Lenten meal. Hopkins makes many versions, from oyster to what he calls a "land" gumbo of veal stock, andouille sausage, tasso ham, chicken thighs, onion, bell pepper and celery. Regardless, he always includes a special ingredient he keeps a secret, a mojo of sorts, though he does hint that a good mojo is some kind of root.

And he swears no amount of flattery, coaxing or cajoling will pull it out of him.

"My children don't even know," he said. "They'll have to find their own."

Linton Hopkins' Gumbo YaYa

8 servings
Hands on: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

This complex, spicy stew is made with tasso, a highly seasoned smoked pork. You can substitute smoked ham or Canadian bacon and add more garlic and spices, or you can order the real thing from Jacob's World Famous Andouille (www.jacobsandouille.com or 1-877-215-7589). Be careful with roux; do not let it burn or burn you. It is very hot.

For the roux:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, or 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup duck fat
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1/2 onion, diced small
1/2 green bell pepper, diced small
1 celery rib, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup port wine
For the gumbo:
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced on the bias
1/2 pound tasso, diced
1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
1 onion, diced small, divided
1 green bell pepper, diced small, divided
2 celery stalks, small dice,
divided
6 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1/4 cup chopped parsley (save stems)
1 cup chopped tomato
4 teaspoons Creole seasoning
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
6 cups chicken stock
4 cups veal or beef stock
1 sprig fresh thyme
6 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
Mojo (your own secret ingredient)
Tabasco sauce
Ground black pepper and salt
Cooked rice
Minced green onion
Filé powder

To make the roux: In a saucepan, melt the butter (or butter and fat) over medium heat and slowly stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until roux is the color of chocolate. Turn off the heat and stir in the Creole seasoning, onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Let cook for 3 minutes in hot roux, stirring occasionally. Carefully stir in the port. Set aside.

To make the gumbo: Heat the peanut oil in a wide, thick-bottomed pot over high heat. All meats and some of the vegetables will be cooked in this pot. The fat from the sausage, ham and chicken will become reinforced with each step. Keep that fat in the pan.

Sauté the andouille in peanut oil until it is golden brown on one side. Remove and reserve. Add tasso and sauté until golden brown on one side. Remove and reserve. Add chicken thighs and sauté on one side until golden brown. Remove and reserve.

Add half the onion, half the bell pepper, half the celery and half the garlic and cook until the vegetables are soft and beginning to color. Add the parsley, tomato, Creole seasoning, Worcestershire and stocks. Let simmer 10 minutes, then add the reserved meats, the remaining onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Bundle the parsley stems, thyme, peppercorns and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and add to the pot. Add your mojo.

Once the soup comes to a boil, rewarm the roux and stir it in a bit at a time. The roux must be warm in order to dissolve lump-free. It will continue to thicken as it cooks.

Let the gumbo cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, making sure to skim off the fat that collects on top of the soup.

Adjust the seasoning with Tabasco and ground black pepper. Add salt to taste, if necessary.

Serve over cooked rice. Garnish with green onion and filé powder.

Per serving: 570 calories (percent of calories from fat, 68), 20 grams protein, 24 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 41 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 97 milligrams cholesterol, 2,171 milligrams sodium.