'I keep shouting out broccoli': Olaf Falafel wins award for funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe

The Swedish comedian's vegetable-based pun topped the public poll

Swedish comedian Olaf Falafel has won the title for this year's funniest joke at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Swedish comedian Olaf Falafel has won the “Joke of the Fringe” award for his vegetable-based pun.

OK, here it goes: “I keep randomly shouting out ‘broccoli’ and ‘cauliflower’ – I think I might have florets.”

Falafel, who included the one-liner in his Edinburgh Fringe Festival show It's One Giant Leek for Mankind, said: "This is a fantastic honour but it's like I've always said, jokes about white sugar are rare, jokes about brown sugar … demerara.

“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 shortlist for the award, which is now in its 12th year and sponsored by the television channel Dave, is compiled by a panel of 10 comedy critics, who each submit their favourite one-liners without naming the comics. This 10-joke shortlist is then presented to 2,000 members of the public, who vote for the winner.

Falafel won 41 per cent of the vote, beating established comedians such as Milton Jones and Ross Smith, who had two jokes included on the shortlist.

Dave’s channel director, Luke Hales, said: “What a year it’s been for current affairs and British eccentricities. The comedic opportunities to be creative are endless and above all we’ve all needed a good laugh in 2019.”

The Edinburgh Fringe, which concludes on Monday, August 26, is the largest arts festival in the world.

Dave’s 10 Funniest Jokes of the Fringe 2019

1. I keep randomly shouting out 'broccoli' and 'cauliflower' – I think I might have florets. – Olaf Falafel

2. Someone stole my antidepressants. Whoever they are, I hope they're happy. – Richard Stott

3. What's driving Brexit? From here it looks like it's probably the Duke of Edinburgh. – Milton Jones

4. A cowboy asked me if I could help him round up 18 cows. I said, 'Yes, of course. That's 20 cows.' – Jake Lambert

5. A thesaurus is great. There's no other word for it. – Ross Smith

6. Sleep is my favourite thing in the world. It's the reason I get up in the morning. – Ross Smith

7. I accidentally booked myself on to an escapology course; I'm really struggling to get out of it. – Adele Cliff

8. After learning six hours of basic semaphore, I was flagging. – Richard Pulsford

9. To be or not to be a horse rider, that is Equestrian. – Mark Simmons

10. I've got an Eton-themed advent calendar, where all the doors are opened for me by my dad's contacts. – Ivo Graham