François COCHET

Sommelier : 1 restaurant Born into a family of restaurateurs from Rennes, François Cochet honed his passion for wine with Patrick Borras at Pierre Gagnaire, before opening Terrible in Rennes alongside chef Clément Foucré.

Presentation

"In a way, I'm a bit of a wine geek," laughs François Cochet. The young sommelier grew up in a family of restaurateurs, a stone's throw from the Place des Lices in Rennes, where his parents ran the La Lupa pizzeria. Under their influence, however, he didn't go straight into the hotel business, first pursuing general studies in the Breton capital, before enrolling in a Bachelor's degree at Ferrandi, which had just opened a branch in Rennes.

Two formative years at Pierre Gagnaire

During his work-study program, François dared to apply to Pierre Gagnaire to work in the dining room, where he stayed for two years. "In my second year, I asked to work exclusively in the sommelier department, alongside the great Patrick Borras and Florian Wunenburger, now at the Hôtel du Castellet. I obviously learned a lot from them. In Paris, he is accompanied by Clément Foucré, a passionate chef who shares his taste for wine. The two young men (who met during their BTS in Rennes) share a flat, help out at Piero TT or Gaya, and begin to imagine their future restaurant.

Terrible, an author's cellar in Rennes

"We wanted to move to Rennes. It was planned for 2026, but at the end of 2024, we fell under the spell of this former tearoom, which was up for sale. Between agreements with Bâtiments de France, the co-ownership and major works, Terrible didn't open until December 2025. Today, the wine list features over 350 references, almost all of them organic, biodynamic or natural. "We always offer two bubbles, three whites, three reds and one sweet, without excess. And the customers seem to be delighted, as are we, and word-of-mouth is working like a charm.