Episode Recap: Week Three (October 5)
While waiting in the loft to see who would return from the conference room, David said that Jim or Dawn would have to go if they were to have any chance at all. The rest of his teammates felt the same way, which is why everyone looked deflated when the door opened and Jim and Dawn came back to them unscathed. "I do want to throw up," Bethenny said under her breath. While Dawn glumly unpacked her things, knowing that her team had it out for her, Jim picked up the phone and called his pregnant wife. A sweeter side of Jim came out, and he was practically glowing as he spoke with her. Martha had a chuckle with Alexis and Charles about this week's task, which she knew would look deceptively simple. The teams arrived to find a wedding shoot in progress for an upcoming issue of "Martha Stewart Living Weddings" magazine. The setting was appropriate because that week's task had to do with the $72 billion wedding industry: each team was to design and bake a wedding cake and then sell it at a bridal fair at Michael C. Fina, a leading bridal registry and retail store. The team that made the most money would win. Howie, the project manager for Primarius, gathered his team together at the Culinary Institute to start strategizing. They began by doing some Internet research, starting with the Martha Stewart Web site, to get a sense of popular cake designs and flavors. Howie sent Jennifer, Sarah, and Ryan to the New York Wedding Center to get even more ideas and to collect materials for the cake's presentation. However, when they arrived, they realized it was in the middle of Chinatown and didn't cater to the audience they were trying to reach. David, the project manager for Matchstick, split his team into two groups: one to work with the baker and one to do market research. Since Bethenny and Marcela were professional cooks, David put them on the team in charge of the cake's design with Dawn rounding out the trio. Jim, Shawn, and David were in charge of marketing and research. In the kitchen, Bethenny and Marcela got down to deciding what kind of cake to make. Dawn was concerned that they were going too high end and narrowing their audience too much, but she kept this to herself for fear of being "steamrolled" if she said something. Charles stopped by to see how Matchstick was faring. Shawn was extremely confident as she told him that they would definitely win this task. In fact, she went so far as to tell him that if "we don't win this one, you can fire me personally." Primarius decided on a traditional, five-tier wedding cake with different flavors layered on top of each other. As baking commenced, Jennifer, Sarah, and Ryan returned empty handed from their trip to the New York Wedding Center. Howie went ballistic, accusing Sarah of failing at her task. Sarah fought back, telling him that he sent them to an Asian wedding center. Howie denied this and words heated until they were practically boiling over. Both Howie and Sarah realized that they overreacted. They stepped aside to talk through what happened. Like a bickering brother and sister coming to terms, they finally hugged and made up. Alexis arrived in an elegant outfit to see how Primarius was doing. Her presence helped lighten the mood as she talked about growing up as Martha Stewart's daughter. Matchstick's baking was interrupted by a call received by Jim. It was his wife informing him that he was the father of a baby girl! Though he felt an emotional pang for not being able to be there, he was still focused on the task at hand. David stayed behind with Marcela to help her finish baking the cake well into the night. In the morning, the rest of Matchstick arrived and got their first glimpse of their creation: an oval, pink, asymmetrical cake. The majority of the team was happy with it, but Shawn thought it was "awful." The expo began! Two hours into it, Primarius didn't have a sale, and Matchstick wasn't doing much better. Finally, Ryan from Primarius made a sale to a young couple. A sweet moment ensued with the bride-to-be tearing up over her future husband's decision to spend the money. The meeting in the conference room began with Martha making an announcement about Jim's new baby. After that, it was right down to business with Martha evaluating the look and taste of both cakes. She thought both tasted homemade but didn't comment on their appearance. Instead, she turned to Charles to find out how Primarius did. By focusing on a mass market, Primarius sold five cakes for a total of $3658. Matchstick focused on a niche market and sold... zero cakes for zero dollars, giving them their third loss in a row. For their reward, Primarius got to enjoy dessert at Jean-Georges, one of New York's finest restaurants. Joining them were Donald and Melania Trump. Martha called the Donald to check in on the team. Needless to say, the evening was a highlight for all the candidates. In the men's bathroom, Jim tried to give David some advice on how to handle the conference room, telling him not to take the fall for their cake's design. Later on, David warned Bethenny, Marcella, and Dawn that two of them would be facing firing. Dawn was shocked by this, since she felt she didn't have much to do with this week's task. For the third week in a row, Matchstick met with Martha in the conference room. Martha immediately pinpointed the design of the cake as being its major flaw: asymmetrical cakes are simply not popular to a wide audience. Next, Martha turned her attention to the team's poor sales pitch. Charles reminded Shawn about what she said to him, and she explained that in television news, which is her industry, there's a saying that goes "fake it till you make it." Martha was displeased by that sentiment. At the end of the meeting, David chose Marcella and Dawn to come back to the conference room. Martha felt that David's choices were "not right." The team's failure had more to do with the sales strategy than it did with the actual cake. Not feeling good about his decision at all, she called her assistant to bring Shawn, Jim, and Bethenny back from the loft. David, Dawn, and Marcella re-entered the conference room. Martha told them off the bat that she felt it was a sales problem and that the other three would be joining them soon. Shawn, Jim, and Bethenny returned, sitting with their teammates at the table. Martha singled out David's youth and inexperience, but had stronger words for the poor job that the sales team did. Martha turned her attention to Shawn and pointed out two things she said that really bothered Martha. The first was "fake it till you make it." The second was Shawn's boast to Charles that if her team didn't win the task, she would willingly go home. Being part of the "awful" sales team was the "icing on the cake." Martha wished Shawn well as she sent her packing. Martha wrote a personal letter to Shawn, explaining to her the culture of professionalism at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.Source: http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice:_Martha_Stewart/recaps/week3_p1.shtml
While waiting in the loft to see who would return from the conference room, David said that Jim or Dawn would have to go if they were to have any chance at all. The rest of his teammates felt the same way, which is why everyone looked deflated when the door opened and Jim and Dawn came back to them unscathed. "I do want to throw up," Bethenny said under her breath. While Dawn glumly unpacked her things, knowing that her team had it out for her, Jim picked up the phone and called his pregnant wife. A sweeter side of Jim came out, and he was practically glowing as he spoke with her. Martha had a chuckle with Alexis and Charles about this week's task, which she knew would look deceptively simple. The teams arrived to find a wedding shoot in progress for an upcoming issue of "Martha Stewart Living Weddings" magazine. The setting was appropriate because that week's task had to do with the $72 billion wedding industry: each team was to design and bake a wedding cake and then sell it at a bridal fair at Michael C. Fina, a leading bridal registry and retail store. The team that made the most money would win. Howie, the project manager for Primarius, gathered his team together at the Culinary Institute to start strategizing. They began by doing some Internet research, starting with the Martha Stewart Web site, to get a sense of popular cake designs and flavors. Howie sent Jennifer, Sarah, and Ryan to the New York Wedding Center to get even more ideas and to collect materials for the cake's presentation. However, when they arrived, they realized it was in the middle of Chinatown and didn't cater to the audience they were trying to reach. David, the project manager for Matchstick, split his team into two groups: one to work with the baker and one to do market research. Since Bethenny and Marcela were professional cooks, David put them on the team in charge of the cake's design with Dawn rounding out the trio. Jim, Shawn, and David were in charge of marketing and research. In the kitchen, Bethenny and Marcela got down to deciding what kind of cake to make. Dawn was concerned that they were going too high end and narrowing their audience too much, but she kept this to herself for fear of being "steamrolled" if she said something. Charles stopped by to see how Matchstick was faring. Shawn was extremely confident as she told him that they would definitely win this task. In fact, she went so far as to tell him that if "we don't win this one, you can fire me personally." Primarius decided on a traditional, five-tier wedding cake with different flavors layered on top of each other. As baking commenced, Jennifer, Sarah, and Ryan returned empty handed from their trip to the New York Wedding Center. Howie went ballistic, accusing Sarah of failing at her task. Sarah fought back, telling him that he sent them to an Asian wedding center. Howie denied this and words heated until they were practically boiling over. Both Howie and Sarah realized that they overreacted. They stepped aside to talk through what happened. Like a bickering brother and sister coming to terms, they finally hugged and made up. Alexis arrived in an elegant outfit to see how Primarius was doing. Her presence helped lighten the mood as she talked about growing up as Martha Stewart's daughter. Matchstick's baking was interrupted by a call received by Jim. It was his wife informing him that he was the father of a baby girl! Though he felt an emotional pang for not being able to be there, he was still focused on the task at hand. David stayed behind with Marcela to help her finish baking the cake well into the night. In the morning, the rest of Matchstick arrived and got their first glimpse of their creation: an oval, pink, asymmetrical cake. The majority of the team was happy with it, but Shawn thought it was "awful." The expo began! Two hours into it, Primarius didn't have a sale, and Matchstick wasn't doing much better. Finally, Ryan from Primarius made a sale to a young couple. A sweet moment ensued with the bride-to-be tearing up over her future husband's decision to spend the money. The meeting in the conference room began with Martha making an announcement about Jim's new baby. After that, it was right down to business with Martha evaluating the look and taste of both cakes. She thought both tasted homemade but didn't comment on their appearance. Instead, she turned to Charles to find out how Primarius did. By focusing on a mass market, Primarius sold five cakes for a total of $3658. Matchstick focused on a niche market and sold... zero cakes for zero dollars, giving them their third loss in a row. For their reward, Primarius got to enjoy dessert at Jean-Georges, one of New York's finest restaurants. Joining them were Donald and Melania Trump. Martha called the Donald to check in on the team. Needless to say, the evening was a highlight for all the candidates. In the men's bathroom, Jim tried to give David some advice on how to handle the conference room, telling him not to take the fall for their cake's design. Later on, David warned Bethenny, Marcella, and Dawn that two of them would be facing firing. Dawn was shocked by this, since she felt she didn't have much to do with this week's task. For the third week in a row, Matchstick met with Martha in the conference room. Martha immediately pinpointed the design of the cake as being its major flaw: asymmetrical cakes are simply not popular to a wide audience. Next, Martha turned her attention to the team's poor sales pitch. Charles reminded Shawn about what she said to him, and she explained that in television news, which is her industry, there's a saying that goes "fake it till you make it." Martha was displeased by that sentiment. At the end of the meeting, David chose Marcella and Dawn to come back to the conference room. Martha felt that David's choices were "not right." The team's failure had more to do with the sales strategy than it did with the actual cake. Not feeling good about his decision at all, she called her assistant to bring Shawn, Jim, and Bethenny back from the loft. David, Dawn, and Marcella re-entered the conference room. Martha told them off the bat that she felt it was a sales problem and that the other three would be joining them soon. Shawn, Jim, and Bethenny returned, sitting with their teammates at the table. Martha singled out David's youth and inexperience, but had stronger words for the poor job that the sales team did. Martha turned her attention to Shawn and pointed out two things she said that really bothered Martha. The first was "fake it till you make it." The second was Shawn's boast to Charles that if her team didn't win the task, she would willingly go home. Being part of the "awful" sales team was the "icing on the cake." Martha wished Shawn well as she sent her packing. Martha wrote a personal letter to Shawn, explaining to her the culture of professionalism at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.