Imagine a warm, fragrant entree of oven-baked chicken with whole-grain brown rice, steamed yellow squash and pan-wilted spinach.

Or slow-roasted leg of lamb with pearl barley, broccoli and crispy whole-wheat croutons with cheddar cheese.

Those aren’t offerings at a tony French bistro. They’re on the menu at Chef K9’s Doggy Bistro and Cafe in Pompano Beach, Fla., which customizes meals for your dog and sends them to you.

The subscription-based company is one of dozens that offer canine and feline foods that go well beyond run-of-the-mill supermarket chow.

According to Packaged Facts, a researcher in Maryland, the premium pet food sector accounted for nearly half of the $26 billion U.S. pet food market in 2013. Apparently, we want our pets to have not only a spot on the sofa but a figurative spot at the dinner table too.

Delicious-sounding dog and cat food recipes are good marketing, Chicago veterinarian Donna Solomon says.

“The descriptions and the suggestions of wholesomeness, homemade and gourmet are aimed at our taste buds, not our pets’,” she says.

Freeze-dried pet foods that you reconstitute with warm water or broth are also popular, says Sid Hawkins, a spokesman for Pet Pantry Warehouse in New York. Owners like that the bags are less cumbersome than regular kibble bags, and the foods are shelf-stable.

Primal Pet Foods offers a protein- and vitamin-rich freeze-dried blend of beef heart, liver and ground-up bones as well as dark green vegetables. There are feline feasts, too, such as Primal’s organic kale, carrots and blueberries with chicken and salmon.

Honest Kitchen’s got a turkey and parsnip or chicken and quinoa blend, as well as a fish and coconut mix designed for “touchy tummies.”

Fresh pet food is another area of dramatic growth; supermarkets are adding refrigerated sections where protein and vegetable combos from companies such as FreshPet are offered in tubs or slice-and-serve form.

There are some exotic meats on offer, too. Taste of the Wild has dry or canned recipes that include wild boar, smoked salmon and roasted bison mixed with berries, garbanzo beans or sweet potato. California Natural has a kangaroo, red lentil and pea formula.

Can dogs discern different tastes the way we do?

Not really, according to Dr. Stanley Coren, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of many books about dogs, including, most recently, “Gods, Ghosts and Black Dogs.”

There’s taste-bud allotment, for one thing: Humans have around 9,000; dogs only about 1,700.

In this May 26, 2016 photo, Ella, a Labrador retriever living in Westchester, N.Y, stands behind by a bag of her freeze dried food called Grandma Lucy’s Artisan. Freeze dried dog and cat foods are part of a growing trend toward premium pet products with limited ingredients. (Katherine Cook via AP)

Katherine Cook

Freeze dried pet foods, like the kind shown in the bowl here in this May 23, 2016 photo in Westchester, N.Y., are gaining popularity in the premium pet food market, reports show. Pet owners like the convenience of shelf stability and less bulk than big bag of dried food. The ingredient list focuses on healthier, easily digestible ingredients and a notable lack of fillers. (Katherine Cook via AP)

Katherine Cook