On a late Monday morning, the kitchen gang at The Old Guard House Inn is icing down perforated pans of Iamb chops and shrimp so that they can power wash the walk-in refrigerator. Right in there with the crew is Frank Miller, who proves that a great chef isn't some prima donna creative force who spends most of his night schmoozing with admirers tableside, but one who likes to work.

Miller, 37, has worked at the Old Guard House for 13 years. He sojourned a short time in Lake Tahoe after graduating from the prestigious culinary program at Rhode Island's Johnson and Whales University in 1986, then returned home to Rosemont, where he answered a newspaper ad for help at The Old Guard House. "I knew right away that (owner Albert Breuers) was a really good guy," Miller says. "He kind of took me under his wing."

Miller left to work at Restaurant Taquet for a short time, but soon found himself back at The Old Guard House when Breuers offered to make him chef. The pair promptly set about reducing the offering of menu items to a manageable number, then perfecting them all.

"We have a ton of return clientele," Miller says. "Some of that reflects the fact that Albert's always here. We work well together. That's a good bit of the reason why I'm still here. It's hard to find a good owner He's not an absentee guy. He's always interested in everything." And Miller himself, after prepping meals six afternoons a week, works on the line six nights. He's involved in every aspect of food production, from locating and purchasing ingredients to setting finished plates in the pass-through window for pickup by servers.