One of France's greatest chefs, Olivier Roellinger, is closing his three-star restaurant on grounds of fatigue and personal reasons, the latest of several top cooks to give up on high-pressure
establishments.

Roellinger, 53, whose award-winning restaurant is located in the small Brittany port of Cancale in western France, told AFP on Friday that "after 26 years of happiness at the oven it is becoming increasingly difficult by the day to cope with the physical demands."

He is the fourth Michelin three-star chef to throw in the towel in the last few years since then "chef of the century" Joel Robuchon gave up his stars in 1996 at the age of 51, saying life in the top lane was too stressful.

He was followed by Alain Senderens in 2005 and Alain Westermann in 2006. The three have since opened new award-winning eateries.

Badly beaten up when aged 20, Roellinger began cooking during his two-year convalescence and subsequently dropped out of university to become a chef.

A seafood, spices and vegetable connoisseur, he won his third prized star from the Michelin Guide foodie bible in 2006 for his epomymous restaurant, which will close December 15.

"I will transmit and share my cuisine differently, more in line from now on with my deep desire to communicate," he said.

"I will go towards a wider public, and be more available than I could have been by keeping the three stars," added Roellinger, who also runs a bakery, a spice-oriented grocery, a cooking school, B&Bs and a smaller bistrot-restaurant, all in Cancale.

"We are sad to see Roellinger retire from haute gastronomy," said the director of the Michelin Guide Jean-Luc Naret.

One of 26 chefs currently boasting the three-star distinction from the revered food bible, Roellinger is also among a handful of the critics' favourites, hailed for gastronomic ingenuosity and talent.

"By taking this decision," said food writer Francois Simon in the daily Le Figaro on Saturday, "he has decided to maintain his joy in cooking.

"The Michelin brought him glory, but he remained wise."

Simon said in the newspaper that winning even just one Michelin star changed a chef's life from one day to the other, as bankers unrolled the red carpet, butchers offered their finest fare and customers came rushing.

"A star means the sun shines day and night," he wrote. "But after, you have to hang in and not lose. For a star, chefs have sacrificed their family life, their savings, their free time."

"With three stars life is even worse," he added. "This decision may move other great chefs."

Dropping a gastronomic bombshell over a decade ago, Robuchon, almost a demi-god in the world of fine foods and named the century's best by the Gault-Millau food guide, slammed the door on his three-star eatery while at the pinnacle of success.

"There's too much stress, I want to live," he said at the time.

Maintaining three-star quality day in day out was gruelling, high-pressure stuff, Robuchon said. He pulled out after seeing too many chefs die young or grow old too soon. Not only was there the cuisine to watch and care for, but also the decor, the banks, the taxes, the critics.

"Times have changed," he told AFP in a later interview. "People want less sophisticated but quality cooking, and they want atmosphere."

Robuchon's new restaurants opened since have earned him the most Michelin stars of any chef -- 18 for various restaurants around the world ahead of 14 for fellow Frenchman Alain Ducasse.

In 2005, another big name in French cuisine, Alain Senderens, gave up his three Michelin stars at Lucas Carton after 28 years in search of a simpler, less formal approach to dining.

"Everything is changing," he said, adding that people wanted "a great meal without all the fuss."

The following year in 2006, Strasbourg-based Antoine Westermann too cited   changing times as his reason for walking out and going back to the oven to make simpler fare at the Drouant in Paris.

Grand elaborate tables belonged to the 20th century, critic Simon said. The new trend in the 21st would be to smaller more personal tables such as Roellinger's.

www.maisons-de-bricourt.com
www.restaurants-joel-robuchon.com

(AFP/Expatica 2008)