Sweet Vendôme Management, Inc.

Pascal is the consummate host, one who welcomes his guests as if they were dining in his own home for the evening.

It's the kind of hospitality he experienced growing up in the Bordeaux region of France. Restaurants are an extension of the community, a place of comfort that feeds the body and nourishes the soul.

"I enjoy this business because of the relationships with the people," says Berthoumieux, easily identified by his dapper attire, warm spirit and genuine interests in his guests. "My establishments are places where the community connects, mark milestones and celebrate friendship over good food."

Berthoumieux, earned a culinary and management degree in Bordeaux but felt the draw of the front-of-the-house early on. He gained valuable experience after graduation working in the French Riviera during the summer seasons and the French Alps during the winter seasons.

He then moved to Paris and worked at two star Michelin restaurant, La Maison Blanche, on Avenue Montaigne before heading to May Ray, a trendy restaurant-bar formerly owned by Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and other celebrities. During that time, Berthoumieux met his wife, Rebecca, an American student studying at La Sorbonne in Paris.

In 2000, he followed her home and moved to Chicago first working at the Tip Top Tap lounge, the iconic though now shuttered, restaurant in the Allerton Hotel. Berthoumieux then spent several invaluable years learning and working at Kiki's Bistro with owner George Cuisance before deciding to open his own establishment with the joie de vivre of restaurants he acquired over the last decade in Chicago.

In 2009, Berthoumieux opened his first restaurant Bistro Bordeaux, an authentic French bistro. Two years later, he opened Creperie Saint Germain, an authentic French Creperie located downtown Evanston.

Most recently, Berthoumieux opened Patisserie Coralie, a boutique French pastry shop and cafe in the center of downtown Evanston.