SAM AND ANNETTE

WHITEGRASS

Sam Aisbett’s the head chef and “big boss”—at least as much as Annette Glover allows him to be. They met while working at the Hyatt Hotel on the Gold Coast in 2003, when he was an apprentice chef at its fine-dining restaurant and she was a supervisor at one of the other restaurants. Today, they head up one of the hottest restaurants on the island—one that challenges the general perception of modern Australian cooking, led by Sam’s creative sophistication and passion for local produce.

HAS A MUTUAL LOVE OF GASTRONOMY BROUGHT YOU CLOSER?

She said: Not at the beginning; I didn’t have a love of gastronomy prior to meeting Sam. We come from very different upbringings when it comes to food. I have learnt to understand and appreciate food more since being with Sam and now enjoy going out to try different types of food. He said: No—it helps coming from the same industry, though. We understand the hours, the craziness and everything you need to sacrifice to be in this industry.

It helps coming from the same industry, though. We understand the hours, the craziness and everything you need to sacrifice to be in this industry

HOW HAS SPENDING THAT MUCH TIME TOGETHER SHAPED THE RELATIONSHIP?

She said: It hasn’t been easy. Being with each other 24 hours a day, seven days a week can be tough. Especially since previously we used to work opposite hours—i worked early cafe hours and Sam worked late restaurant hours, so we would only ever see each other one day a week. It also makes it difficult to switch off, as all we can talk about is work. Having said that, I wouldn’t want to do it without him. He said: I love working with Annette; we get to see each other every second of the day. But sometimes, we just hate each other—you need to have space! Other times, it’s the best thing in the world to have someone to talk to and vent to and who understands.

DO YOU HAVE RULES ABOUT BRINGING WORK HOME?

She said: No, but we should! We try to have one night where I might cook something homely and we veg out watching Netflix—but Sam is still thinking about work, I know! He said: Work is everything to me. I’m always thinking about what I can do better, what I will create next, how I can improve. Will I have staff tomorrow? I can’t switch off. It’s hard to talk about things outside of work, when we spend so much of our lives at work.

HOW WOULD YOU REWORK YOUR VOWS?

He said: For better or for worse… to make sure she never runs out of coffee, and to always love her more than I love my dogs, until she starts getting the orders wrong! She said: For better or for worse… to make sure he gets to say he is the big boss and do everything else aside from the cooking, until he starts forgetting I am the real boss!