Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Champagne corks are popping in the 20 German restaurants awarded new stars by the Michelin Deutschland 2006 Guide. The famous red gourmet bible, which goes on sale Nov. 24, lists one new three-star, two new two-star and 17 new one- star restaurants in the country.

The big winner is Schloss Berg, Germany's newest three-star gourmet temple in Perl-Nenning, Saarland. The 34-seat restaurant, decorated in pale cream and gold, is located in a restored Renaissance castle converted into a hotel. The chef is 34-year- old Christian Bau, the youngest German cook to earn three stars.

``We're still celebrating,'' said Bau in a telephone interview. He uses mainly French products, which he buys 5 kilometers away, across the French-German border. ``The quality is excellent. I can get classic French products like truffles and foie gras and the freshest fish and sea food from Brittany.''

French Light

Among Bau's specialties are frogs' legs and veal sweetbreads a la meuniere, grilled spiny lobster with barley risotto and crustacean jus. ``I prepare classic French dishes but try to give them a contemporary, light feeling,'' said Bau. He often substitutes olive oil for butter and eliminates heavy cream-based sauces. ``I like to keep things fairly simple and avoid fussy trimmings.''

Amador in Langen, run by Chef Juan Amador, moved up from one to two stars. Aqua (Chef Sven Elverfeld) in Wolfsburg, where Volkswagen AG has its headquarters, also moved up a notch to two stars. The one-star category has the most winners. In Berlin, two restaurants got their first stars: Fischers Fritz (Chef Christian Lohse) and Vivo (Chef Renee Conrad).

Munich also added two new one-star restaurants: Acetaia (Chef Alessandro Miragoli) and Mark's (Chef Mario Corti). The remaining new stars are spread among smaller German cities.

A new category, ``Rising Stars'' premieres in this guide. It designates nine restaurants that are likely to win their first star and five which could add an additional star in the coming year.

The Deutschland 2006 Guide has a total 7,746 listings on 1,680 pages. To make reading easier, editors have printed the stars and other pictograms in red this year. The new guide lists a total of seven three-star, 15 two-star and 168 one-star restaurants across Germany.

Winners and Losers

The restaurants awarded new stars are:

3 Michelin stars: Schloss Berg Perl-Nenning 2 Michelin stars: Amador Langen 2 Michelin stars: Aqua Wolfsburg 1 Michelin star: Charlemagne Aachen

Brenner's Parkhotel

Park Restaurant Baden-Baden

Der Alpenhof

Alpenstube Bayrischzell

Fischers Fritz Berlin

Vivo Berlin

Friedrich Franz Bad Doberan

Zum Loewen Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen

Erbprinz Ettlingen

Abtei Hamburg

Schlosshotel

Munchhausen Hameln/Aerzen

Landhaus Zu den

Rothen Forellen

Forellenstube Ilsenburg

Schassberger Ebnisee

Restaurant

Ernst Karl Kaisersbach

Acetaia Munich

Mandarin Oriental

Mark's Munich

Concordia Remscheid

Rom. Hotel BollAnt's

Im Park,

Passione Rossa Sobernheim

Breitenbach Stuttgart

Along with the winners, there are inevitably losers. Four one-star restaurants closed in 2005, nine others lost their one- star designation: St. Benedikt in Aachen, Traube in Efringen- Kirchen, Borsen Restaurant Maitre in Cologne, Adler in Langenargen, La Mairie im Hause Bey in Nettetal, Blauel's Restaurant in Neuenburg, Romantik Hotel Waldhorn in Ravensburg, Rosenpalais in Regensburg and Am Sonnenbichl in Bad Wiessee.

Last Updated: November 22, 2005 09:54 EST