A VEGETABLE pun has been officially named the best joke at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Festival veteran Olaf Falafel claimed the coveted honour of Dave’s Funniest Joke At The Fringe. His winning joke is: “I keep randomly shouting out ‘broccoli’ and ‘cauliflower’ – I think I might have florets.”
The pun was deemed the best gag by 2000 voting members of the public, after being shortlisted by an expert panel. It saw off competition from jokes about nepotism, semaphore, anti-depressants, Brexit and cowboys.
Swedish comedian Falafel won the title for the first time, having previously come close to clinching the winning joke.
READ MORE: Edinburgh Fringe is the UK’s greatest experience
The self-deprecating comic expressed his delight that his niche culinary one-liner won the popular vote. He said: “It’s been really good fun, I would definitely say that winning this award has been a highlight, and just being able to make people laugh with my stupid jokes.”
The comedian and children’s book author has been returning to the Fringe for seven years. He admitted that although this year’s festival provided a carrot in the form of his prize, there’s also plenty of stick.
“I think this is my seventh year at the Fringe,” he said. “It’s like pregnancy – you go through a lot of pain and then the child is born and enough time passes and you forget about the pain and decide that you fancy having another one, but straight after you’re like ‘I’m never doing that again’.”
Falafel compared his festival victory this year, having come close previously to claiming the coveted award, to the success of his beloved Luton Town. He said: “It’s like going from non-league to the Championship in a few seasons.”
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