Author, Chef Tropp Dies at 53

It was a cruel bit of irony that Barbara Tropp died Friday, the day before the start of the annual meeting of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, a group she helped form. Tropp was a pint-sized fireball who, right up to the end, was planning to attend. But the ovarian cancer she had battled for the last eight years was too much. The talented Bay Area chef, cookbook writer and organizer died at home at age 53.

The daughter of New Jersey podiatrists, Tropp fell in love with China at an early age. After earning her master’s degree from Princeton in Chinese literature, she moved to Taiwan. That led to her first book “The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking” (Morrow, 1982) and to her restaurant, China Moon Cafe in San Francisco. Tropp’s loss was felt by many of those in attendance at the WCR meeting in Santa Monica last weekend. “She was the mother of the group,” said executive director Melissa Mershon.

“The reason she was such a leader is that she was truly generous of spirit--it was never about her,” said Joyce Goldstein, a San Francisco cookbook author and one of the founding members of the group with her close friend, Tropp. “As sick as she was, she went out of her way to help others.”

Instead of flowers, Tropp asked that a scholarship fund be established in her name to help young women cooks travel to China to learn about the cooking she loved in its cultural context.

“She was amazing--this group was her brainchild,” said Deann Bayless, WCR outgoing president and co-owner of Frontera Grill in Chicago. “She had a vision, a group focusing on women in the restaurant industry. Over and over people have said they came here because of her. She’s going to be really missed.”

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Donations may be sent to Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, 304 W. Liberty St., #201, Louisville, KY 40202.