Louis XV Regains Third Michelin Star; Le Cinq Also Earns Top Honors

This year's Michelin Red Guide has dealt some blows to French pride -- at least in the country's fine-dining scene. Overall, the 2003 edition was downbeat in its ratings, demoting 43 restaurants across the country, while upgrading only 29. Playing it conservatively, the guide awarded its coveted three stars to only two restaurants -- both run by chefs who have already earned the top honors.

Famed chef Alain Ducasse regained the third star that his Louis XV in Monaco lost in 2001. And Philippe Legendre, who held the highest rating during his tenure at Taillevent, earned a third star at Paris' Le Cinq, which has steadily moved its way up the ladder since opening in the renovated Four Seasons George V hotel in 1999.

None of the restaurants already in the top category were demoted, so France now has a total of 25 three stars: 10 in Paris, one in Monaco and 14 throughout the rest of the country.

Louis XV has seesawed between two and three stars ever since Ducasse opened his second restaurant, Alain Ducasse, in Paris. In the 1997 guide, Michelin inspectors anointed his new establishment with three stars in its first year of operation, but took a star from his Monaco venue. The restaurant won back the third star the following year, giving Ducasse the unique honor of holding six stars.

But Louis XV was downgraded again in 2001, perhaps reflecting concerns that Ducasse had overextended himself by opening a high-end restaurant in New York and several less formal restaurants around the world. However, Ducasse in Paris kept its title even after moving from the Hôtel du Parc to the Plaza Athénée.

"[The third star] delights me because this establishment is particularly dear to me and it marked an important stage in my career," said Ducasse. He and chef de cuisine Franck Cerutti said they are determined to fight to keep the third star.

The 2003 guide is not due out until the end of this month, but the French press leaked many of the changes in ratings, prompting Derek Brown, the head of the Michelin Guide to France, to unveil the details on Friday.

Among the new two stars is Hélène Darroze, whose eponymous restaurant in Paris' Quartier Latin specializes in the cuisine of southwest France. Darroze had previously run her family's one-star Francis Darroze restaurant in Gascony. Parisian chef Alain Dutournier, who has long held two stars at Le Carré des Feuillants, earned one star at his Au Trou Gascon.

Other noteworthy changes include the demotion of the opulent Les Ambassadeurs at the Hôtel Crillon in Paris from two stars to one. Two restaurants lost both of their stars: Auberge de la Galupe in Urt and L'Astor in Paris, where one of the great names in French cuisine, Joel Robuchon, has been consulting. Robuchon had previously announced that he was leaving later this year.

Some top wine regions were also hit hard by the guide. In Burgundy, three restaurants -- Montrachet in Beaune, St.-Georges in Chalon-Sur-Saone and Les Millésimes in Gevrey-Chambertin -- lost their single star, as did Les Plaisirs d'Ausone in Bordeaux. Champagne, however, benefited, as Foch restaurant in Reims earned one star.

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