Bernard Loiseau (January 13, 1951 – February 24, 2003) was a French chef. January 13 is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chefs in training in Paris Chef is a term commonly used to refer to an individual who cooks professionally. ...

He was born in Chamalières. He decided to become a chef as a teenager, apprenticing at the famous restaurant Troisgros run by the brothers Jean and Pierre Troisgros in Roanne between 1968 and 1971. In 1972, he began working for Claude Verger at La Barrière de Clichy, and was soon hailed as a prodigy by the Gault Millau guide, a proponent of the nouvelle cuisine style that emphasized lightness and freshness in contrast to the cuisine classique of traditional French gastronomy. When Verger bought the formerly prestigious La Côte d'Or of Saulieu in 1975, he installed Loiseau as chef and soon stood aside to allow him to develop a highly personal style of cuisine. Loiseau bought La Côte d'Or from Verger in 1982, and the well known Michelin Guide bestowed the coveted 3-star rating on his establishment in 1991. His fanatic attention to detail, frenetic work ethic and discerning palate propelled him to the top of his profession and earned him a knowledgable and loyal but unforgiving and demanding clientèle. Chamalières is a town and commune in France, in the Puy-de-Dôme département. ... Roanne is a town and commune in southern France in the Loire département, about 90km north-west of Lyon. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Gault Millau is one of the most influential French restaurant guides. ... The Nouvelle Cuisine was based on the style of Fernand Point and was developed in France and the USA in the 1970s. ... Cuisine classique is a style of French cookery based on the works of Auguste Escoffier. ... Gastronomy is the study of relationship between culture and food. ... Saint-Andoche basilica Saulieu is a commune of the Côte-dOr département in France. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... A cuisine (from French cuisine, meaning cooking; culinary art; kitchen; itself from Latin coquina, meaning the same; itself from the Latin verb coquere, meaning to cook) is a specific set of cooking traditions and practices, often associated with a place of origin. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... New York City 2006 First Michelin Red Guide for North America The Michelin Guide (Le Guide Michelin) is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bernard Loiseau established Bernard Loiseau SA in 1998, and was the first star restaurateur to establish the concept of having one's restaurant incorporated and traded. The French government awarded him the decorations of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, Officier de l'ordre national du Mérite and Chevalier du Mérite agricole. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Chiang Kai-sheks Légion dhonneur. ... The Ordre National du Mérite (in English: The National Order of Merit) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ...

In the late 1990s a new form of Asian-inspired "fusion cuisine" swept France, catering to an international corporate class and pleasing trend-driven "foodies" (a neologism of the movement)— which Loiseau resisted. The prevailing notion, however, was that the pre-eminent Loiseau's grip was slipping - that his cuisine and philosophy was being superseded by newer trends. Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions whilst not fitting specifically into any. ...

Bernard Loiseau shot himself in the head on February 24, 2003, after the Gault Millau restaurant guide downgraded his restaurant from 19 to 17 points out of 20 in an unprecedentedly harsh move. There were also rumors that Michelin had been planning to downgrade Loiseau's establishment from three to two stars, although it later emerged that Michelin had not been planning to do so. February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gault Millau is one of the most influential French restaurant guides. ...

Now in the hands of Bernard Loiseau's successor Patrick Bertron, "La Côte d'Or" maintains its three Michelin stars as of 2006.

Further reading

• Rudolph Chelminski, 2005. The Perfectionist : Life and Death in Haute Cuisine (Gotham/Penguin). Biography
• William Echikson, 1995. "Burgundy Stars: A Year in the Life of a Great French Restaurant" (Little, Brown).