The brilliant career of Jean-Louis Manzetti (66 years old) stands out by his love of the business.
"Originally from northern Italy, my grandfather emigrated here in 1900. He first set up a heating mechanics workshop, before, in 1931, buying an Italian delicatessen near the Gare de Lyon for my father, who was then 23 years old. I started work at my father's shop at the age of fifteen, where he gradually taught me all the ins and outs of the delicatessen and catering business. I took French nationality on reaching the age of eighteen. In 1956, my father fell ill and I had to go away on military service… The shop was sold…After twenty-eight months in the army, most of it spent in Algeria - a terrible time for which I was awarded the "Croix du Combattant" and the "Reconnaissance de la Nation" - I took over from my father who had since opened another shop. In 1976, my brother asked me to come and work at Rungis, where he had worked since 1960 as a representative for the shellfish, fresh seafood and smoked fish sector at the former "Halles de Paris". So I sold my shop for us to set up the Manzetti company together, dealing in representation and import-export at Rungis Market, which I already knew well from my regular purchasing visits. My brother died in 1988, at which point my sons Stéphane and Raphaël came to work with me. We represented an English company dealing in crustaceans, and in which we bought shares in 1990. With Mr. Patrick Reynaud, we created the company PRM. As sales of crustaceans were still limited, we joined up with a seller of freshwater fish and have since expanded our business to include oysters, shellfish and fresh seafood.
Finally, two years ago we created a bluefish department. Our company currently employs twenty staff. Our flagship products are firstly crustaceans from the world over, for which we are a specialist supplier. Our customers include semi-wholesalers who sell to mid-range and starred catering establishments. Our specialities include fairly rare produce of exceptional quality such as slipper lobsters, spiny lobsters of all origins, pike-perch, live eels, goose barnacles, razor clams, etc. We have tanks for freshwater fish and others for crustaceans. All seafood produce included, our sales volumes now exceed 2,800 metric tons per year. I have been at Rungis for nearly thirty years now. It is a major market which receives produce from the world over every day. France is lucky to be a coastal country surrounded by other port nations. Rungis is a market of international standing and the Fresh Seafood Pavilion is the largest hub in the world…".
A man of quality, a gastronome with a love of good food and the best produce, Jean-Louis Manzetti carries the titles "écuyer de Saint Antoine", "maître-échanson de France" and "Compagnon du Beaujolais".
