Loiseau published numerous books, established a line of frozen foods, and opened three eateries in Paris, in addition to running La Côte d'Or and its adjoining boutique shop. The French government awarded him its highest honour, the decorations of Chevalier (Knight) de la Légion d'honneur in 1994, Chevalier (Knight) de l'Ordre national du Mérite in 1986, Officier (Officer) de l'Ordre national du Mérite in 2002 and Chevalier du Mérite agricole. Death 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notion, however, was that the pre-eminent Loiseau's grip was slipping — that his cuisine and philosophy were being superseded by newer trends. He was by this time deeply in debt, and suffered from bouts of increasingly severe clinical depression. Loiseau died by suicide on 24 February 2003, shooting himself in the head with a shotgun after presiding over the lunch service in his restaurant. The Gault Millau guide had recently downgraded his restaurant from 19/20 to 17/20, and there were also rumours in Le Figaro that the Michelin Guide was planning to remove one of La Côte d'Or's three stars. Loiseau had made a life's ambition of becoming a three-star chef, a goal which had required 17 years of hard work at La Côte d'Or to achieve. After his death, three-star chef Jacques Lameloise said Loiseau had once confided, "If I lose a star, I'll kill myself". While it was later reported that Loiseau was despondent over his debt issues and decreasing patronage at his restaurant, Michelin still received blame in some accounts. As of 2021 La Côte d'Or remains a two-star establishment in the hands of executive chef Patrick Bertron. In media The plot of the Pixar film Ratatouille has its roots in Loiseau's life story, with the film's character of Auguste Gusteau being inspired by Loiseau. La Côte d'Or was one of the restaurants visited by Brad Bird and others in France. 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). References External links Gourmandia Profile 1951 births 2003 suicides People from Chamalières Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur French chefs Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Knights of the