Some restaurants have superb cuisine, some hotels are like private palaces and others provide charm and a warm welcome. The Chateau Boyer is a rare combination of all three .....

Any chef who has been awarded three Michelin Stars is considered a culinary virtuoso - a Pavarotti of the appetiser, a Bernstein of the main course and a Menuhin of the dessert. Gerard Boyer has not only risen to this standard, he has surpassed it. With his charming wife Elyane, he has set out not simply to create the perfect restaurant but to combine it with the ultimate in accommodation. The end result commands an atmosphere that makes their guests feel as family friends spending time in an elegant home of French nobility.

As your car arrives at the long, gravel driveway and passes through the massive wrought iron gates, the Chateau Boyer Les Crayeres appears in the distance as one of the most beautiful and elegant chateaux in Champagne. Indeed, the Boyer was once a palace built at the turn of the century for the Prince of Puligny.

Lining the borders of the property are tall and gracious chestnut, fir and maple trees encircling beautifully manicured gardens. The building is a splendid, cream-coloured classic chateau design with a slate-clad Mansard roof supporting statues and chimneys which sit atop the two stately 'wings' of the building. Between them, a round, columned portico belies a hint of the style and elegance that awaits you inside.

The premises have several official names, among them; 'Restaurant Boyer', the 'Chateau Boyer' and 'Les Crayeres'. To regulars it is simply 'Boyer'. From the moment that you step through the portico, you will be enchanted with 'Boyer's' special ambience. Beautiful antiques and furnishings from the eras of Louis XV, XVI and from the Napoleonic period are in perfect harmony, as ornate ceilings complement the warm glow of the beige limestone in the reception room.

Stylish and elegant, Elyane is a warm, outgoing lady who likes to personally greet guests and escort them to their rooms whenever possible. The room Elyane has allocated to this writer, does not disappoint. The walls and furnishings are covered in a fabric of traditional French Provincial design and vases of fresh flowers, comfortable lounge chairs and a spacious Carrara marble bathroom complete the many touches of perfection. Wide balconies extend from the generously proportioned rooms, overlooking the leafy vista of the estate. Although no two rooms are alike at Boyer, the common denominator is superb elegance. The most sought after of the rooms is Number 14, once the bedroom of Madame de Pommery's daughter Louise, who later became the Princesse de Polignac.

Gerard Boyer's rise has been meteoric. Coming from three generations in this field, he learned his craft at Lasserre in Paris - one of the great names in French cuisine. At the age of twenty, Gerard joined his father at the restaurant 'La Chaumiere' situated at Reims. One star followed another and soon the premises had the reputation of being one of the most 'genuine', that is to say, unpretentious, of France's three-star restaurants.

Affectionately known as 'G and G', the team of Gaston and Gerard Boyer became famous, first in Champagne, and then all over France. But Gerard and Elyane had visions of truly elegant surroundings that would complement the Boyer cuisine which had by now become a byword throughout the culinary world. The opportunity arose when Xavier Gardinier, owner of the Lanson and Pommery champagne houses, agreed to restore and then lease his family's magnificent chateau. Although right on the outskirts of Reims, the estate stood in a setting of fifteen acres of verdant gardens and woods.

Like many of France's gracious buildings, this one too had a very interesting history. Originally built for the Prince of Puligny, the current building became the private home of Madame Veuve Pommery and has remained in the family ever since. Today, this elegant limestone mansion with its Belle Epoque iron canopies and ornamented balustrades exudes charm and hospitality. Some of the rooms look out across the Chateau's wonderful gardens, others across the city towards the famous Reims Cathedral.

It is here that the great champagne makers bring their international clientele who come to negotiate for each year's vintage. At Boyer, you will find the marketing heads of Lanson, Heidsieck, Pommery, Mumm, Taittinger, Henriot and Krug, amongst others. True supporters of the Boyer cuisine, they have been delighted to follow Gerard from the modest La Chaumiere to the super-elegant Les Crayeres.

"It is one of my favourite places", espouses Remi Krug, the somewhat flamboyant Head of marketing at Krug. "When I bring my guests here, I know that it will be an occasion that they will always remember. Gerard's cuisine is perfection, and no one could make a visitor feel more welcome than Elyane. To dine or stay at the Chateau Boyer is to experience some of the very best that France has to offer".

Elyane and Gerrard are clearly proud of what has been achieved at the chateau, and the care and attention that they have lavished upon the building is directly attributable to their desire to offer the best in comfort and dining pleasure to their guests.

"We love this Chateau", says Elyane, "and it is important to us that our guests are at home here. The building itself and the rooms must all contribute to the ambience. Gerard and I feel very strongly about this and we are concerned with making everything as good as possible".

The Boyer touch makes for perfect dining and although Gerard's presentation is faultless and every dish is as carefully assembled for visual effect as a painting by a French Master, it is the quality of the food and the nuance of the sauce that has given Gerard his great reputation.

"Champagne is known all over the world for its wines, yet strangely enough, this part of France has no famous regional cuisine", says Gerard. His interpretation then is to cook with a great simplicity that, combined with his natural flair, gives a personal and distinctive touch to all his dishes. He loves to flavour his vegetables with just hint of herbs and this has become one of the trademarks of his cuisine.

No one rises hungry from Gerard's table nor is disappointed with the splendid decor so tastefully chosen by Elyane. The bar and dining areas are made more inviting by the generous use of varieties of potted plants which give the effect of a year-round garden ambience. Together with the silver candelabra, chintz curtains and flower-bedecked tables, the fining-room exudes an air of warmth and quiet elegance whilst the bar lounge, with its dark walls, matching carpets and deep red chairs, has the feel of a private club.

Together, the Boyer's have created what many connoisseurs rate as the finest Chateau-Restaurant in a country where 'good' would be classified as 'superb' in any other. Many of the guests arriving for dinner have driven all the way from Paris to sample the delights of Les Crayeres. Others arrive by air to park on the helipad at the far end of the garden.

To a Frenchman, a top three-star chef is close to being a saint. No wonder then, that gourmets in France make a 'pilgrimate' to the Chateau Boyer Les Crayeres.