AFP, PARISIt is the annual event that has accomplished chefs quaking in their toques: The release yesterday of the Michelin restaurant guide for France, revealing the winners and losers of its coveted ratings stars. Poullennec said no other three-starred restaurants ran the risk of being downgraded in this year’s guide. Critics say the process has rendered Michelin stars untenable, as more and more diners balk at spending a fortune on a meal. The 2003 suicide of three-star chef Bernard Loiseau was linked, among other reasons, to speculation that his restaurant was about to lose its three-star status. In 2005, the Michelin Guide branched out of Europe with a New York guide, followed in 2007 by editions for San Francisco, then Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
