The Apprentice (UK)

Fast Food Chain (7x11)

Air date: Jul 13, 2011

At a shopping mall in the City of London, Lord Sugar points out to the teams the wide range of successful fast-food chains and tells them to invent their own outlet, develop a unique cuisine, open it to the public and pitch the concept to him and experts from the fast-food industry. The teams get two brand new sites in the centre of the West End to turn into protoype fast-food outlets. One team goes for Mexican meals, the other for British pie and mash. Both teams split - one half to cook, the other to make the branding match the concept. The Mexican restaurant gets called Caracas because it sounds like maracas, while the pies get named after historic Britains; except that, once the branding has been done, Nick casts doubt on the British credentials of Christopher Columbus. When the restaurants open to the public the customers wait for fajitas and nachos to emerge from the kitchen - cold! Pies, mash and gravy served piping hot in cardboard boxes causes a rethink on presentation, and by the time the two-hour trial run is over there is plenty to fix before Lord Sugar turns up. The teams pitch to the experts who mark both business concepts out of ten in four crucial categories: customer service, the meal, branding, and whether the idea could work on the high street. Marks are revealed in the boardroom. The winners go straight to the final. The losers face the firing line, and their concept gets shredded. In the end, Lord Sugar places his order: "You're fired!".