Pick up a bunch of carrots for Only Wolves and Lions (Forest Centre Plus, 19–23 Aug, 4.30pm), a storytelling dinner providing carbs and condiments, to which audience members must contribute an ingredient. No shopping is needed for ‘multi-sensory dining experience’ Dinner is Swerved (C Nova, until 25 Aug) for the culinarily open-minded, promising a dining sculptor, while Hunt and Darton is a down-the-rabbit-hole café more about the performance art than the food – though they do a mean roast dinner sarnie (Pleasance, Hunt and Darton Café, until 25 Aug).

If you’re of an educational frame of mind, there are tastings galore. Novices to our national drink start with the Malt Whisky Demonstration for Beginners (Bennets Bar, until 22 Aug), or if you’re after dastardly tales, the Villains, Heroes and Adventurers and Moonshine, Medicine and The Mob tastings (Valvona & Crolla Scottish Foodhall@Jenners, ​until 21 Aug and 24 Aug) are for you.

Don’t like fire water? Pretend to learn about booze while really just cadging as many top-ups as possible at a Champagne Tutored Tasting (Signet Library, 15 Aug), or Wine School at the Fringe (Bon Vivant’s Companion, until 25 Aug). Probably the Fringe-iest tasting is Champagne Cabaret (The Hispaniola, until 25 Aug) − five wines paired with tunes. If you’d like to actually remember your lesson, try an Introduction to Chinese Tea at smart indie tea house Pekoe (Pekoe Tea, 15 Aug).

Oddly charming, Tea, Cake or Death (Punjab Junction, 17 Aug) is a ‘light-hearted natter’ designed to take the darkness out of death. There’s no smooth segue from that to the crayfish party (Joseph Pearce’s, 19, 20 & 26 Aug) that’s part of Lugg, a Swedish alternative Fringe month of foodie, boozy events, other than it is also light-hearted, albeit in a schnapps-fuelled way. A whole Nordic food festival? If you only eat burgers in August it’s no longer Edinburgh’s fault.