The French have elevated food into an art form... nowhere else on earth is so much attention paid to what people are going to eat and how they eat it. The reason is steeped in history - the fostering of the royal court, the subsequent revolution, the discipline of the apprentice system, the quality of ingredients and creativity of the chefs, and simply, the love of good food. The focus on food has elevated French chefs to almost godlike status and one of the symbols is the coveted Michelin star system that rates chefs and restaurants. Published since 1900, it awards stars to a very small number of European restaurants of outstanding quality