Jane Blumenfeld, retired architectural designer and former Center City restaurant owner, has died at 90

Jane Blumenfeld, 90, of Philadelphia, retired architectural designer at Jack W. Blumenfeld & Co., and former owner and head chef at the Center City restaurant What’s Cooking, died Monday, June 5, of heart failure at her home.

Mrs. Blumenfeld had an eye for design and a palate for exotic cuisine, and she fashioned successful careers that highlighted both of them. She helped stage and design many of the projects her husband, developer Jack Blumenfeld, undertook in the 1970s and ‘80s, and she operated What’s Cooking for more than a decade at 15th and Latimer Streets in Center City.

A self-starter throughout her life, Mrs. Blumenfeld first worked as her husband’s secretary in the 1950s. After showing an aptitude for creative interior design, landscaping, and collaboration, she became one of the company’s top designers with a staff of her own.

Together, she and her husband worked on construction and renovation projects in Center City, Roxborough, South Philadelphia, Margate, and elsewhere in the region. “She had a classic elegance and was interested in designing everything around her,” said her son Eric.

She learned how to perfect cherry-flavored crispy duck, white chocolate cheesecake, and her signature chocolate chip cookies in the family kitchen and later won awards for her fare. She graduated from the Restaurant School, now Walnut Hill College, in 1978 and offered customers at What’s Cooking the same attention to detail and quality she gave to her family at home.

“She was an unbelievable cook who made us exotic dinners when I was young,” her son said.

Jane Watkins was born Nov. 8, 1932, in Germantown. She attended a clerical school during her high school days, but natural charisma and curiosity led her to find most of her professional satisfaction outside the office. She married Russell Gaudy, and they had daughters Rodelle and Robin. They later divorced. Her former husband and daughter Rodelle died earlier.

She married Blumenfeld, and they had sons Eric and David, and lived in Center City. Her husband died in 2012.

Mrs. Blumenfeld embraced urban life and enjoyed the city’s music scene, theaters, and the arts. She was graceful and stylish, and judged one year in the 1960s to have worn the best bonnet at an Easter parade.

She went on to serve as a judge for many South Street Easter parades and teamed with Jerry Blavat, Ed Rendell, and other local notables to host part of the city’s annual Welcome America Fourth of July celebrations. “She wanted us as children to be engaged with urban society,” her son Eric said. “She ingrained a worldly sense in all of us.”

Mrs. Blumenfeld designed the family’s summer home in Ventnor with many windows facing the ocean. She liked to visit castles and unique houses, and share her vision of design with others.

She read more than everyone else in the family, her son Eric said, and enjoyed debating politics and other issues of the day with anyone who would engage. A longtime friend called her an “au courant in full measure” in an online tribute and said she often shared “gracious observances of life and living.”

She was never upset when her son had to miss school due to a minor illness because they could watch an afternoon movie together. She played tennis, he said, but was likely drawn more to the sleek athletic attire than the game itself.

She made friends easily. “She would light up the whole room,” said her daughter-in-law Laura Cordaro.

Her daughter Robin said Mrs. Blumenfeld resembled actress Audrey Hepburn in terms of beauty and elegance, and friends noted her grace and “big heart.” In an online remembrance, a friend said: “I remember Jane and her beloved Jack as warm and giving friends.” Another said: “Jane was such a lovely person. Always had a smile and was so sweet and pretty.”

Her son Eric said: “She was high-spirited and beautiful inside and out.”

In addition to her children, Mrs. Blumenfeld is survived by five grandchildren and other relatives.

Services were June 8.

Donations in her name may be made to the Vetri Community Partnership, 915 Spring Garden St., Suite 103, Philadelphia, Pa. 19123.