The year is 2021. The scene is set in a tiny, one-bedroom Glebe apartment complete with communal rooftop overlooking Sydney CBD (some of the residents are growing herbs up there). The rooms might be small, but you can feel it as soon as you walk through the door; this space is bursting with dreams – set to an unexpected soundtrack of Stevie Wonder, Dua Lipa, Hilltop Hoods and Drake.

 

There’s a tall plant in the corner the owners can barely keep alive and books spill from the kitchen shelf – The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, Dare to Lead and Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*#k by Mark Manson and Atomic Habits by James Clear. A sizzling sound sweeps through from the balcony – roast veggies and steak doing their thing on the barbecue. 

A bottle of red sits open on the table. A whiteboard is taped to the wall. And two people are pacing the oak-stained floor. 

Sandy and Alexandra Rogers have an idea – to build a stunning, architecturally designed, off-grid hut located on a working farm between Quirindi and Willow Tree. It’s Sandy’s family farm and it is, in a word, spectacular. We’re talking red dirt roads that lead to big skies, uninterrupted mountain views and sunflower fields as far as the eye can see (should you visit in January, February or March). 

As for the hut itself – it’s all kinds of luxurious, designed with respect to the surrounding landscape and kitted out with creature comforts like a king-size bed, wood-fired heater, solar-powered air conditioning, high-speed internet and a gas kitchen top. Then there’s the wood-fired hot tub, the firepit and the pizza oven. #signmeup

Doors officially opened in May 2024, fulfilling the vision Sandy and Alexandra mapped out that night: a getaway called Gilay Estate in the heart of the Liverpool Plains. 

But one question remained – how do you build a brand when you don’t have a product?

“So we asked ourselves, what are people obsessed with?” says Alexandra. “What do people love? What do we love? Our answer was cooking good food – and everything rolled from there, from that moment, standing in front of a whiteboard in Glebe.”

Building binge-worthy content

Of course, having a background in media and advertising is helpful when it comes to building a brand – and that’s something Sandy and Alexandra have in spades. While Sandy works in advertising for Spotify, Alexandra manages talent and accounts for a Chinese-based global live streaming company. Prior to that, the pair were both at Southern Cross Austereo. 

“That’s where we met,” adds Sandy. “Media is our whole background, it’s what we know. So when it came to building the Gilay Estate brand, we were able to apply our Sydney-born advertising knowledge to our regional base. That meant creating content around something people love – food – while showcasing the environment the hut will eventually stand in.”

If you’re yet to check out Gilay Estate’s content, set aside some time to binge. It’s campfire cooking crossed with outdoor adventure and a healthy serving of ASMR… and it’s magic. The sound of cutting crusty bread, sausages that sizzle and chocolate wrappers being torn draw the viewer in and, before you know it, you’re hooked. 

“Engaging an audience early on and making sure you have a story before launch is crucial for any brand – and a lot of planning goes into that content,” says Alexandra. 

“We definitely try to use recipes that will enhance the sound of cooking and use ingredients we can chop and crunch into. So whether that’s scoring meat, roasting marshmallows or cracking eggs, we work to create an authentically emotive experience for the viewer. You’ll hear the roar of the fire, the sounds of nature and the splash of something delicious frying in oil in the background too. When those elements combine, we’re not only creating cooking experiences, we’re crafting a story – the story of Gilay Estate.” 

The food. The views. The story. We’re in