After spending 37 years in cramped restaurant kitchens, former Symposium Chef Bob Miller has a new domain: a vast stainless-steel sanctuary inside Stauffers of Kissel Hill's new Rohrerstown store.
"We're bringing a restaurant setting to the supermarket," he says.
Chef Bob Miller is savoring his first taste of freedom.
It's the divine juxtaposition of lamb-shank osso buco and fresh-rolled sushi, just a few paces from the produce department.
After spending 37 years sequestered and sweating in cramped restaurant kitchens, Miller has a new domain: a vast stainless-steel sanctuary inside a 78,000-square-foot grocery store.
Today Miller moves from back of the house to front and center, at Stauffers of Kissel Hill's new 301 Rohrerstown Road store.
The tall, gregarious Miller, known for past pairings of colorful patterned pants with a white coat, is the grocery store chain's first-ever executive chef.
Chef Bob and his 24-person staff will cook made-to-order sandwiches and salads for the store's 40-seat bistro, along with restaurant-quality take-home meals.
"Casual gourmet is what we're doing," he says. "We're bringing a restaurant setting to the supermarket.
"... I do osso buco that will knock your socks off."
It's a huge challenge — and change — for Miller, a 48-year-old South Jersey native who first entered a restaurant kitchen as an 11-year-old dishwasher at a joint called The Charcoal Pit.
In July, Miller, a two-decade veteran of the local cuisine scene, left Symposium, the popular Centerville Mediterranean restaurant he helped launch 11 years ago.
His new position at Stauffers allows him to embrace his affinity for working one-on-one with customers — and whipping up exactly what they want.
We're not talking just lasagna and chicken wings, though Stauffers will have those, too.
Miller and his staff will fill the store's heat-and-eat cafe case with lobster quiche, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and fresh-rolled-daily sushi, all at supermarket prices.
Even as the construction dust settles, Miller, of Neffsville, is enjoying his freedom.
He built Stauffers' nearly 200-item menu from scratch, minus the confines of Mediterranean, Italian or any other type of cuisine.
"(In a restaurant), there's always a theme," he says. "Here there is no theme. It's more of a dream."
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Say a Symposium diner wanted steak with bearnaise sauce, which wasn't on the menu.
Miller would stop what he was doing and make one.
"I built my reputation on how to please customers," he says. "If they want something, I'll do it for them."
Stauffers company president Paul Stauffer is a longtime fan of Miller's creativity and consistency. He would often walk in to Miller's restaurant and simply say, "Make me something."
"I always considered him one fantastic chef," Stauffer says.
The number of pleats on a chef's traditional tall, white toque denotes experience. Miller's hat has 100.
Miller was always fascinated by flavor combinations and the artistry involved in creating good food.
He landed his first job at a farmers' market at age 10. A cook at 13, a sous chef at 17, he got his first chef position at age 25.
Miller briefly attended cooking school, where he picked up some useful terminology. But going to school and working 60 hours a week ultimately proved too much to handle.
In 1989, Miller moved to Lancaster County to be closer to his older sister. He worked at the former Baron Stiegel and Portofino restaurants, and also at Reflections and Carlos & Charlie's.
At Symposium, he helped owners Nick and Ruth Grigoriades build a thriving restaurant where three others had failed.
But Miller's body couldn't take the stress, long hours — sometimes till 2 a.m. — and daily beating of standing behind the line anymore.
"You just get to the point where it's time to go," he says. "You need something different."
Now, for the first time ever, Miller regularly makes it home for dinner with his wife Cindy and their children, Amber, 13, Christen, 22, and David, 24.
At home, Cindy Miller does most of the cooking.
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The Rohrerstown store's gleaming open kitchen leaves no room for error.
It features a high-tech convection oven, a seven-spit rotisserie and a combi-therm oven, a gadget that does everything but wash dishes.
But the kitchen has only one freezer, which is no oversight.
"Everything's fresh," Miller explains.
That includes the variety of herbs grown for his use just outside the bistro's designated entrance.
Miller is still hiring his staff, which includes chef Jeff Dodson (formerly of Enck's Catering), two assistant chefs and seven full-time prep cooks.
Miller developed menus for the bistro — Stauffers' first ever — and heat-and-eat cafe cases. Pulling from a stable of 2,000 recipes, he will change offerings seasonally and according to customer preferences.
Stauffer says Miller immediately came to mind as an ideal executive chef for the new store.
"I hope (shoppers) will find this is a place to come to get really great food all the time," Stauffer says. "It'll never be boring. It's always going to be exciting."
In the future, Miller will help bring similar features to Stauffers' Lititz store. He hopes to eventually offer cooking classes and demonstrations.
Miller will cater to customers on restricted diets with separate gluten-free pans and pesto without nuts.
He hopes shoppers will tell him if a dish isn't quite right. Seriously, he won't be offended.
"If I have three people come in and tell me they don't like something —!\q guess what — I'm not cooking it anymore," he says.
Shoppers who aren't in the mood for gourmet cuisine still have options.
Not far from the sushi, there's a spot for Stauffers' famous 50-cent hot dogs.
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