The name of Alain Ducasse is in the news again. If you haven't heard the name before he's one of France's celebrity chefs with more Michelin stars than you can shake a stick at, with an array of fabulous restaurants bearing his name and imprimatur. He has even franchised his name as far away as Mauritius, where he opened a restaurant called 'Spoon' some years ago. I was lucky enough to eat there and it gave me an idea of what his cooking is about. But he's back in the news again, this time for a food-related story. Remember the seven deadly sins? One of them is gluttony and a group of influential French cooks and writers are in the process of trying to do something about it, and M. Ducasse is one of them. A delegation has met the pope to try to get him to reassess gluttony, moving it perhaps to a new category like 'virtues' for example.

But the same M. Ducasse was in the news the same week for a food-related story as well: his restaurant 'Louis XV' in Monte Carlo has just regained its third Michelin star after being deprived of it last year. Since Monaco was just down the road from where Paul and I were staying, it seemed a good reason to visit it and we got there the day after the newly regained star had been announced. It's as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the belly, because the restaurant is housed in the 'Hotel de Paris', a building in the most elaborated style of the Belle Epoque, taking the curlicues and flourishes of rococo to previously undreamed of heights. Obviously some style sultan of the late nineteenth century was given the brief 'if it's vertical make it marble and gilt, otherwise swag it in silk'. The dining room is high-ceilinged and frescoed, perhaps a dozen large tables circle an enormous marble epergne on top of which a dazzling display of foliage and flowers sat. The waiters wear dark grey suits that look like they were bespoke tailored by Armani, the tables are exquisitely set and the clientele are, well, not riffraff. Much to Paul's annoyance in came Sandra Bullock with three others and she sat down behind Paul's back at the next table, giving me a clear view of the star, but Paul no view at all. 'Karma', was all I was prepared to say on the matter.

Dining in the 'Louis XV' is probably the apotheosis of dining. It's not just the wonderful food - it's the professional service and the fabulous surroundings. The menu is a large affair, I mean in the physical sense of size: a huge card on which all the magnificent dishes could be found. It's divided into headings like soups, the sea, truffle dishes, the farm and the pastures. Being February we're right in the middle of truffle season so there's a lot under that heading. In the end the sheer number of our choices overwhelm us and we settle for the tasting menu - lots of small courses giving you a taste of what they're good at. We used much the same technique with the sommelier; we asked him to bring us wines that he thought might best accompany our meal, with the sole proviso that he choose wines from Provence. This couldn't have worked out better - it's often worth trusting the sommelier if the wine list is unfamiliar to you.

Another evening we went to 'La Reserve', which is in Beaulieu and which has two Michelin stars. Like many Michelin starred restaurants it has a sense of gravitas and you'd dress up a little not because it's obligatory, but because the food demands that kind of respect. Again we had the tasting menu and ate superbly well. The difference between its two stars and the Louis XV's three isn't the quality of the food, but in the dining room. In La Reserve it's elegant, restrained, comfortable and warm but the almost over-the-top opulent splendour of the LouisXV is missing. It manages to be homelier and friendlier, while at the same time keeping up a very high standard of service and cuisine.

There's something appealing about a two-star restaurants anyway, since some of them are striving to obtain a third, and finding a restaurant that has that degree of dedication and single-mindedness can be a revelation. The sea-front in Cannes is home to three well-known hotels; the Carlton, the Majestic and the Martinez. The new manager of the Martinez, Sylvain Ercoli, is an old friend and he has been keen to market the Palme D'Or, the Martinez's restaurant, as something truly special. He arranged for Paul and I to go as guests for lunch and willingly we went. The dining room here is on the first floor, built out at the front of the hotel, looking over the Croisette and the sea. Here too the waiters are in beautifully fitted suits, there's a quiet hum of professionalism all around, coming from the waiters and the diners alike.

Because we're guests we've been given girls' menus that have no prices on them, but by this stage ordering the tasting menu has become a habit and we do it again, and again we ask the sommelier to do the choosing. Maybe the fact that we weren't paying may have influenced us, but the meal here was fantastic, bearing out Paul's contention that a restaurant reaching for a third star is a good bet. I can still remember the palate-stunning rocket ice-cream which came as an amuse bouche.

This is gastronomy at the upper reaches, expensive and very skilled. It's the touchstone against which other less skilful meals can be compared. We also learned a rule of thumb; you can use the Michelin stars as a rough guide to price - one star = €100 per head, two star = €200 per head and three star = €300 per head, although it doesn't quite work for the one star.

Le Louis XV, Hotel de Paris, Monte Carlo. Tel. 00 33 7 92 16 29 76
La Palme D'Or, Hotel Martinez, Cannes. Tel. 00 33 4 92 98 74 00
La Reserve, Beaulieu, Tel. 00 33 4 93 01 00 01