The Apprentice Series 4 - Episode 5
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Ice cream, you scream and frankly all they do is scream!
| The Task | The teams have to invent three flavours of ice cream, arrange a tasting and then place as many orders with ice cream sellers as they can. |
| Alpha |
(Lucinda (PM), Lindi, Helene, Raef, Lee, Jenny M), AKA the good looking team (did you notice this, or was it just me?). The team seem to bond rather too well under the leadership of Lucinda who has clearly sorted her act out. In fact, even Margaret approves of her manner. They eclectically pick the flavours ‘Cosmopolitan’, ‘Avocado and chilli’, and ‘Toffee apple’. The team is divided into two: Jen M, Lindi and Raef are the sales team with Lindi in charge and the others go off to make the ice cream. The sales team start drumming up attention for the tasting and making appointments with retailers, whilst the production do a great job and get everything finished by 7pm. The tasting goes well, except the ‘Cosmopolitan’ tastes like mashed potato so, unsurprisingly, they choose the other two. The following day, whilst Lindi, Jen M and Raef are busy congratulating themselves “overwhelmed by how good they are”, the other team are attending appointments where the retailers only sell their own ice cream (d’oh!). The team manage to secure a deal with a cinema group and a gastro pub but controversially offer them exclusivity… oh dear.
My personal highlights, were Helene starting by saying she will do ‘fuck all’ for Lucinda and going on later to say ‘at least Lucinda has finally got her finger out of her arse’, Lindi reckoning she was the project manager and Lee talking about “smashing targets”… anyone for bullshit bingo. |
| Rennaissance |
(Claire PM, Jenny C, Michael, Kevin, Sara, Alex): AKA the not so good looking team… apart from Alex natch! Claire starts by saying she is conscious that she is too direct and asks the team to raise any issues. Jenny suggests cocktail flavoured ice cream and Michael rightfully points out this maybe a tad inappropriate for families. They finally settle on ‘Berry mania’, ‘Chocolate orange’, ‘Cider and elderflower’ (all of which sound yummy!). Kevin, Sara and Alex start on the hard work of producing the ice cream, while Claire, Jen and Michael swan around the countryside, ostensibly gathering ingredients, making appointments and arranging the tasting. In reality they appear to be sipping cider and having a laugh. They come back four hours late with: the ingredients, just two appointments and no tasters. The irate production team now have just two hours to create the ice cream… to be tasted by nobody! The ice cream is made just in time (for nobody) and they all go to a local pub and ask two drunk men to taste their ice cream. The ‘tasters’ choose Cider flavour - well blow me down!
The following day, as they have so few appointments they have to hawk their wares door to door. Alex reckons he has landed a massive deal with 18 cinemas, until they phone up to cancel as they have just placed a large order with the good looking team! Kevin reckons it is “game over”. They are beginning to look desperate as they have only shifted 30 litres and Claire feels the guillotine literally inches away from her neck (hee hee). Flukily (is this a word?) they secure a massive deal with a restaurant for 200 litres and they can breathe again. My personal highlights: one of the drunk tasters saying “do you really think we will have a discerning palate after two bottles of wine”, Jenny quizzing the tasters about their love lives and Alex spewing management speak “fail to prepare and you prepare to fail”. |
| Boardroom |
SAS asks about the team leaders and Jenny reckons Claire was really good and Michael reckons she is extremely “receptive” (I am wondering to what… go Michael!). Jen M (at least with her around the ice cream wasn’t going to melt in a hurry) reckons it was the first time she saw Lucinda positive but she wouldn’t say she was a good team leader. I however, am beginning to warm to Lucinda.
By an astounding (and some might say fluky…it’s that word again) twist of fate Renaissance win £1455 to £1273 and get highly commended by SAS who sends them off by helicopter to hit some easy targets. |
| Boardroom II |
Helene says that she is not a sales person (clearly a mistake - remember how they got rid of me!), that Jen is a manipulator and apparently a snake and the “vicious and lazy “ Lucinda finally “got her finger out of her arse”.
Lucinda accuses Jen M of mystifying “non-verbal cues”, Jen M has a pop at Lucinda and effectively invites herself into the boardroom. Jen M and Lindi are blamed for offering exclusivity. SAS suggests they didn’t have the right to limit the future sales for the ice cream ingredients suppliers. Clearly Lucinda brings back Jen M and Lindi, although she does apologise to Lindi about it. SAS reckons he doesn’t need a risk assessment manager like Lucinda… cos he loves to ‘take a risk’… really Alan? (Sir), that Jen M is really cold and then fires Lindi (with the really lovely coat) as the failure of the task was down to sales (not coat style). Back at the house, Jen M announces to the group that Nick Hewer described her as ‘cold’ clearly hoping for some disagreement… not just an Arctic tumbleweed moment. I can’t help but think us lot on Series 3 got on a lot better as a group. Could it be that the producers thought there might be mileage in having three Katie Hopkins-alikes in the house?? |
| Lindi Mngaza | I like this girl now and feel bad for her. I think she was extremely gracious on You’re Fired and, literally, held her hands up to her responsibility. In answer to are you still a miracle she said “I am still a miracle but probably one that needs refining in parts”… Go Lindi! |
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