Laurent PETIT-FOREIX

Head sommelier : 1 restaurant

Presentation

Laurent Petit-Foreix has had two lives: that of a photographer, and that of a sommelier. The first began in high school, and led him to the Gobelins image school in Paris. "I was a photographer, then the boss of a big studio, and I set up an image management structure," he explains.

But in 2011, an accident forced him to put his professional life on hold. " I had no desire to return to my old career. I decided to move to Anjou and think about the next move. "In the years that followed, he dedicated himself to his Anjou commune as deputy mayor, then first vice-president of the community of communes, but his love"for good food and very good wine" became an increasingly important part of his life.

It has to be said that Laurent Petit-Foreix has been cultivating this interest in good products since 1996, after meeting a sommelier.I got a big kick out of that dinner," he says, "so I converted to wine, and it's been going on ever since. That's how, in 2016, he founded his dining cellar, Une Fille & Des Quilles, in Angers, where he showcases wines that are"as clean as possible". More recently, he has partnered with another wine bar, Le Cercle Rouge, and plans to open another cellar soon.

In recognition of this unique career path, he was awarded the Sommelier trophy at the Gault&Millau Tour Loire in 2022. "It's a reward for a job that isn't a job, it's a passion," he concludes.

I.B.