Michelin Red Guide 2004 France is Now Available
Staff Writer - March 16, 2004
Three restaurant earned the coveted third star and one lost it.
 Three restaurants were awarded the coveted third star in the Michelin Red Guide 2004 France, the highly considered gastronomic guidebook known for launching, and sometime destroying, the careers of chefs and the fortune of restaurants all over Europe.
Of the three upgraded restaurants, only one is a first-time winner of Michelin's highest restaurant award. Is Les Loges de l'Aubergade, located in Puymirol, southwest France, and managed by Michel Trama.
The other two restaurants, L'Espérance (The Hope) and La Côte St.-Jacques (The St. Jack Coast), are both located in Burgundy and have regained their three-star status after losing it in 1999 and 2001, respectively.
Les Crayères restaurant, in Reims, in the Champagne region, lost its third star following the retirement of its chef, Gérard Boyer.
New chef Yannick Alleno earned Le Meurice, at Hôtel Meurice in Paris, the upgrade to two stars. The guide, published on February 27, includes 27 three-star restaurants, 67 which were awarded two stars, and 410 at the one-star entry level.
Michelin's three-star system, as well as other influential European guides, can either make or brake a restaurant. The system has long been criticized for its overrated influence. Last year for instance, renowned French chef Bernard Loiseau committed suicide after the GaultMillau guide downgraded his restaurant, La Côte d'Or (The Golden Coast), followed by rumors that Michelin might do the same.
La Côte d'Or is currently run by Loiseau's widow and, this year, kept its three stars.
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