AS the television video cameras silently zoomed in on the lanky blonde and her dark-haired husband, the young couple looked set to become "hot property".
Restaurant experts and fellow restaurateurs on Channel Nine's The Hotplate, which first screened in July, indeed propelled chef Aron and his wife Vanessa into second place, and gave the young couple the impetus to bring a long-held dream to reality.
The show featured the couple's Menai "special occasion" restaurant, Rocksalt, which finished the series on 24 points, meaning they narrowly missed out on the $100,000 prizemoney to Japanese restaurant, Bird's Nest, in south Brisbane, which scored 26.
As a result of the television exposure, the Filettis have put their culinary and marketing skills to the test, opening Rocksalt Tapas and Wine Bar, just a couple of doors away from Rocksalt, in Allison Crescent.
Mr Filetti said the new restaurant, with its "industrial look" and wallpaper that resembles concrete, had an open space dining room with high ceilings and a suspended mezzanine floor.
It has replaced the Italian restaurant, La Cucina.
"We were thinking about a wine and tapas bar for a long time and since the show was on television we've had so much attention we just went ahead," Mr Filetti said.
"There is nothing quite like it in the area, it's got a real cool look.
"We're using the best from Rocksalt's menu and at the new place we've got dishes such as soft shell crab tacos and pulled pork sliders and pork belly."
Now when the Filettis are out and about in Sutherland Shire they create a stir among friends and strangers alike, keen to question them about the television show.
The Filettis said the exposure had helped them.
Mr Filetti said the six-week show took up almost a year of the family's life but it had the added benefit of getting his wife, who usually works front of house, into the kitchen and cooking alongside him.
Rocksalt Tapas and Wine Bar, Allison Crescent, Menai, bookings, 9543 9999.
