Between 1986 and 1997, Barbara Tropp ran a very successful Chinese restaurant named China Moon Cafe in a 1930s era coffee shop in San Francisco. Similar to Chez Panisse in Berkeley, China Moon Cafe drew foodies from around the world who came for the unique combination of California cuisine infused with a deep knowledge of another traditional food culture. Frequent visitors to the restaurant during this time included people like Robin Williams, Christopher Reeve and Julia Child who had developed a close friendship with Barbara. The restaurant hummed with precision and flavorful smells and vibrant colors. Chefs who trained with Barbara went on to illustrious careers with chefs like Wolfgang Puck. Staff alumni from the restaurant include the Vietnamese-American filmmaker Paul Kwan and the opera singer Julie Queen and sous chef and later restaurant owner Richard Katz. Chef Nance Tourigny Chef Nance worked with Tropp in the early 90's and went on to establish her successful personal chef business in Seattle working for prominent clients like Craig McCaw. Tropp's enthusiasm for wok cooking was almost mystical — chefs were instructed from day one on creating a proper wok hay, a column of smoke summoned from the center of the wok with clanging wok tools, where seared vegetables and meats were tossed about and gained a delicious smokiness that is the true hallmark of wok flavor.
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