Newly-wed Rachel Lowther has licked all opposition to win Oregano Restaurant’s weird and wonderful ice cream competition.
The Ballyclare woman, whose fabulous parmesan and chilli combination now features on the menu, also won a meal for two with John Mark, her new hubby.
Award-winning Oregano in Newtownabbey launched a competition on Facebook last month to encourage customers to come up with new and exciting flavours of ice cream.
Head chef and owner, Dermot Regan was impressed by the standard of entries but said Rachel’s stood out from the crowd.
“We tried six or seven different flavours but Rachel’s was by far the best one. You taste the creamy parmesan first and then you get the heat of the chilli in the back of your throat afterwards. It is a fantastic combination.”
Rachel was delighted when she heard she had won the competition.
“I couldn’t believe it when they told me I had won. I’m an ice cream fan and a cheese and chilli fan so you can’t go wrong putting them all together!” she said.
They say good things come in threes and this is certainly the case for Rachel and her relationship with Oregano Restaurant.
Last November, during a night out at Oregano, her then husband-to –be, John Mark Lowther, got down on his knees to pop the question after the main course.
And in June, Rachel held her Hen Party at Oregano before her big day at Castle Leslie, Co Monaghan last month.
John Mark, who is from Co Mayo, said that he had always planned to propose in Oregano: “She absolutely adores it here so it was the ideal place to ask her to marry me. It embarrassed the life out of her when I did it!” he added.
Oregano plans to run the competition for the next six months, with the winner of the ice cream of the month featuring on the menu. They will then select the top dessert from all of the monthly winners.
When this happens, Rachel is hoping that her parmesan and chilli combination will continue to melt the hearts of the judges.
For more information about Oregano visit: www.oreganorestaurant.com
