The Chefs at Coi in San Francisco admit they did not come up with a “new” item for their menu.

The idea came from a conversation with my sous-chef. We were trying to find a new way to cook carrots, and he recalled working in a restaurant in France…

Shocking. Americans stealing ideas from French kitchens…if any one of those kitchens had some Google-sized orphelines they’d be all over America right now with accusations of cuisine warfare. I can hear the military sabre rattling now…

“If you steal from our kitchens,” said one unnamed official, “maybe we will put a soufflé down one of your chimneys.”

Here’s some more shocking news. Coi has discovered that hay is best served to farm animals.

And if you’re considering eating the hay itself, I wouldn’t. The flavor is great, but unless you’re a farm animal, the texture leaves much to be desired.

If that hasn’t dissuaded you, Coi also offers health and safety warnings, which beg the question of why they even bother to use hay in the first place.

Most farms and farm-supply stores carry hay, but because you’ll use it in direct contact with food, make sure it hasn’t been treated with chemical pesticides. And beware: Before you place your order, stake out some serious storage space. A bale of hay is enormous.

Unfortunately the reader gets no indication of how exactly they “make sure” it has no chemical pesticides. Count the legs and eyes on the farm animals that eat from the same bale?

Oh well, if the French do it, must be good. I might have to ride my horse down to Coi and check it out.