*Not a joke. “La fauche,” the theft of all sorts of objects, is a typical and recurrent problem in top restaurants. All three-star places have to accept a certain diminution of their supply of knives, forks, and spoons, the way hotels have to deal with disappearing towels. Curiously, anecdotal evidence suggests that women are more prey than men to this gastrokleptcy, and few items seem too great or negligible for their coveting. An honorable Lyonnais matron once tried to cop a candelabra from Paul Bocuse’s place. Jean-Michel Lorain remembered a similar lady in Joigny who walked out with a toilet brush in her purse. An alert waiter spotted the crime, but they didn’t pursue the matter, and let her have her precious souvenir.