A Bury St Edmunds teenager who came across his sommelier talent quite by accident is ready to move to France to continue his passion for wine.
Fred Faers,19, first discovered his talent with wine while trying to save up money for university during his gap year.
After completing his A-levels at County Upper High School last year, Mr Faers took a job at The Maison Bleue, which was named one of the best restaurants in the UK earlier this year.
"I wanted to earn a bit of money to go to university and study something like engineering," he said.
"So I started working at Maison Bleue for a bit."
With owners Karine and Pascal Canevet taking him under their wing, Mr Faers took an interest in wine after hearing them talk about it in the restaurant.
"Initially I thought it could be quite interesting and Karine, who is brilliant at her job, helped me with some day courses," said Mr Faers.
"But then I realised that I really loved it and started to think seriously about hospitality as a career."
Mr Faers says the Bury St Edmunds restaurant owners have been "incredibly generous" in nurturing his talent.
"They've paid for all my training, brought me along to wine tastings and even let me have time off from work to go to wine festivals abroad," he said.
"They've been like my guardian angels."
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Having completed his level two and three sommelier training, Mr Faers has decided not to go to university in September to pursue his passion for wine instead.
He's had messages on LinkedIn from people across the globe wanting to help him and is now looking at placements in France.
Speaking of his friends, Mr Faers says that following a career as a sommelier was "definitely unexpected" but he enjoys being one of the only people his age interested in the role.
"It's just really cool," he said.
"I'm so grateful for the opportunity and I have some very exciting plans in the pipeline."
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