Ben McNamara, groundbreaking Philly chef, dies at 59

John Benjamin "Ben" McNamara, 59, a chef who helped usher in Philadelphia's gastropub movement two decades ago, died May 27 of complications from liver disease, his family said.

Mr. McNamara, who trained at Westminster College in London, worked in the late 1980s and early 1990s for a series of Philadelphia restaurants — Dickens Inn, The Garden, and Monte Carlo Living Room — before owning Periwinkle, a bakery in West Philadelphia, with his now-former wife, Marisa.

In 1995, the couple bought an upscale restaurant in the city's working-class Oxford Circle section called Isola Bella, renaming it Isabella's.

Isabella's, with its French-Italian menu, was critically acclaimed. Mr. McNamara was known particularly for the signature Isabella salad, topped with a warm piece of nut-encrusted goat cheese, and his gnocchi Piemontaise, whose recipe from his well-used school textbook was held together with Scotch tape.

He eagerly taught any staff member who cared about cooking, but during service "he was almost like a classic movie chef, where you had to answer, ‘Yes, chef,’ and he would yell all the time," said longtime friend Daniel Hecht, who met his wife, Monica Moran, while both worked at Isabella's. "I am a very good cook because I watched him, as a waiter and then a manager. He would explain everything."

"He was really good at educating us," Moran said. "He was so passionate about his food and his family."

Mr. McNamara's son, Nicholas, also learned to cook from his father, though neither he nor his sisters, Isabelle (a nurse) and Emily (who is in public health), do so professionally. "I consider myself a good enough cook to open a restaurant, but smart enough to know that it would be a bad idea," said Nicholas McNamara, a musician and teacher, who said his father was fun to be around.

Marisa McNamara said that for all of her former husband's culinary accomplishments, his favorite foods were her homemade cheesesteaks and hoagies from the now-shuttered Pine Street Pizza.

In early 2000, the McNamaras sold Isabella's and Mr. McNamara took the chef's job at the New Wave Cafe in Queen Village, the corner bar owned by his longtime friends Nate Ross and brothers Aly and Sam Lynagh.

Mr. McNamara's classical training and use of quality ingredients amped up traditional tavern fare, part of a trend that had found the name gastropub.

While Mr. McNamara cooked a tasty plate of beer-battered fish and chips as well as savory pies, few bar chefs in those days were turning out fare like risotto crab cakes over basil butter sauce and a chicken cheesesteak served open-faced on a baguette toasted with Brie and covered with braised chicken, oyster mushrooms, and shallots.

"His culinary talents put us on the map for good eats," said Sam Lynagh.

Mr. McNamara moved on to the Dark Horse Pub near Rittenhouse Square in 2003 and later was chef at such establishments as St. Stephen's Green, the Black Sheep Pub, Philadelphia Bar & Restaurant, and Cavanaugh's.

» READ MORE: Read Craig LaBan's review of Mr. McNamara's cooking at St. Stephen's Green

"He could do it all — gastro dishes, pies, desserts, the lot," said James Stephens, who owns Black Sheep and employed Mr. McNamara at St. Stephen's Green and the Dark Horse. "He always reminded me of an English [Anthony] Bourdain — a fiery character with a good heart and an unreal work ethic."

Mr. McNamara was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 28, 1963, to John Richard and Sidney O’Kane. His childhood straddled both sides of the Atlantic. In 1968, his mother moved to Watford, England, where she married his adoptive father, John McNamara. When Mr. McNamara was 13, the family returned to the United States, where he finished high school at Church Farm School in Exton. While there, he captained the soccer and track teams.

Besides his parents, children, and former wife, he is survived by a brother, Charles; and sisters Elizabeth and Catherine.

A celebration of life will be 11 a.m. June 10 at Saint Clement's Church, 2013 Appletree St. — the same day Mr. McNamara's beloved and heavily favored Manchester City takes on Inter Milan in the Champions League final.

The family requested memorial donations to Church Farm School, 1001 E. Lincoln Highway, Exton, Pa. 19341.