Paris ? Like many a great artist, Bernard Loiseau was a fragile and sometimes tortured soul, a perfectionist tending to one of France’s greatest passions: food.

Loiseau’s apparent suicide Monday shocked France, plunged the gastronomic world into mourning and raised a storm of condemnation from fellow culinary masters as well as fans, who blamed all-powerful food critics for pushing the celebrated chef toward fatal despair.

The death also served as a solemn reminder of France’s complex relationship with food.

Loiseau, 52, was found dead in the bedroom of his home in Saulieu, near his three-star “Cote d’Or” restaurant in the Burgundy region southeast of Paris. A rifle was at his side.

Dijon Prosecutor Jean-Pierre Alacchi said suicide was “very probably” the cause of death, to be determined in an autopsy.

“All these people, all these exceptional beings who give you the impression of so much assurance, they are all very fragile, they all have such strong moments of doubt,” said Loiseau’s wife, Dominique.

Her husband “had such a strong (moment of) doubt and, unfortunately, he was all alone for several hours, and we don’t know what went through his head,” she said on France-2 television.

“His name alone evokes all the perfection of the culinary art and the art of living,” Culture Minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon said.

The energetic Loiseau was a pioneer inside and outside the kitchen. He was among the first chefs to promote “nouvelle cuisine,” lightening thick, creamy sauces and cooking various ingredients, like vegetables, separately to maximize their savor.

Loiseau, who had three children, also became an entrepreneur, with a line of frozen foods, a boutique near his “Cote d’Or” restaurant and three eateries in Paris. He published numerous books and appeared on television.

“I’m like Yves Saint-Laurent,” Loiseau once said, “I do both haute couture and ready-to-wear.”

Amid it all, Loiseau managed to maintain his restaurant’s top three-star rating, first awarded in 1991 by the benchmark Michelin Red Guide. But the Red Guide said it was forced to issue a statement Feb. 7 to stop “all the rumors” that Loiseau could be losing a prized star.

Loiseau did lose two points, going from 19 to 17, in the 20-point rating system of the GaultMillau. That guide has gained in prestige and power in recent years.

Paul Bocuse, who said he spoke with Loiseau three times a week, predicted the chef’s death would raise questions about the ratings system.

“These critics are like eunuchs: They know what to do, but they can’t do it.”