Ah right, okay - i misunderstood.

Yes, just poor organisation then as to what to get first as the fish was logical to be done first.

Yes, the Assumption that the Manager would have caved was bizarre. Of course there will be other things on their menu but why would they restrict their menu selling produce off wholesale?

I probably wouldn't bother going back to a restaurant as a customer that had a lot of their menu off due to lack of ingredients so they could have done their future business irreparable harm.

Exactly the show doesn't seem to respect the requirements of the existing business, no restaurateur in their right mind would sell them that quantity of mussels cheap when they need them for dinners service where they've a much higher mark up.

The women's team were about a 5 min drive down the coast from a couple of fishmongers, surely if they had a yellow pages they would have seen that? (They were in Folkstone and there are fishmongers in Hythe)

The only way it could possibly be worth while financially would be if they had sold them at more than they would have got at the marked up prices as individual meals plus compensation for any ill will it would cause to customers.

Or, of course, if it had been late in the Service, say 9.00pm so they'd get another delivery the following morning. But that wasn't the case.

Did it not occur to Karren that they might have been fully booked for that evening so knew thay they'd need all of the food? They might even have had a party with pre ordered menus coming in.

Jenny did say that by the time they started looking to source the fish, it was too late in the day for fishmongers to be open, or at least have much fresh stock left.

I just don't understand how a clearly intelligent woman makes such a blatant error, nor indeed why the producers broadcast it. They presumably want to present Claude and Karren as being quite bright and knowing what they're talking about; Karren just came across as being quite foolish.

It was a stupid remark and one that was agreed with on YF too. In the past candidates have been criticised for not talking to the boss in negotiation tasks, but that's usually because the person on the till has no authority to negotiate and doesn't ask the manager. In this case the waitress went and asked the chef, who said no. Asking him face to face was not likely to be any more successful.

Jenny didn't defend herself in the boardroom and got fired as a result. Elle survived, despite being more culpable over the boat, because she defended her decisions.

Yes, if Jenny had defended herself, said ; it would just have wasted more time to call the Manager out, he would hace asked the chef what they had in stock and if the Chef said, "not enough" then that would still have been it".

Unless Karren went to ask somebody behind the scenes whether the waitress was lying and they actually could have got the stock, she has no real right to assume that they could have got it if they'd pressed harder.

Some situations, the 'watcher' can make that judgement, if it is an industry they know well, arguably 'big' business that Karren is used to can make a loss for one night. But unless she knew this articular business' books and customer footfall, she couldn't be sure that they'd have managed to cope that night, or even the next day without the ingredients they'd sold on.

There is no negotiation involved if one party will not sell no matter who is talked to and what price is offered.

Had an impression that a deal was made with that restaurant to hang onto mussels for when candidate/s turned up to claim them, and why Karren was annoyed with Jenny when she didn't ask the manager, as she was meant to do that. Karren went too far overboard for it to be anything but a setup, which failed miserably.

Other thing I noticed was how the Candidates behaved as soon as they hit land and had to find items. They went straight into it without any thought of where they were, as if the shops were already laid out for them, and all they had to do was go to them and get the item/s. The champagne flutes' task was so transparent, that someone overheard them asking re the items, can happen I know, but it was too coincidental of a show like the Apprentice for it to be a sudden event.. I bet if you(others) went there another time, and started talking about where to find something, people would just give one a look and pass by.

The Apprentice of previous years wasn't so transparent as it's become in this series, and time it came back to normality, and let the Candidates find their own things without telling them where to find them!

If it really is that much of a set up then it's not worth watching any more. The glass salesman in the hotel was clearly a coincidence. They would never have scripted it that way. Nor does it make sense to effectively guide them around and constrain what they can do.

There is no evidence they are told where to get stuff, your theory is just one possibility. There are limits on where they can go due to TV production logistics, but if it was a total set up like that word would get out. The list had deliberate traps set in it but I think that's as far as the set up goes.

Hi, I think they would have scripted it that way to be like BB for instance. But if the limits were so limited then staying in Calais would have been the sensible thing to do, but they went away from it, which left them little time to get all the items. I haven't seen Calais for years, but do know it has/had a huge supermarket which was( over the years) well frequented by tourists.

Also noticed the attitude of the Candidates when they were in the car, and none of them seemed fazed by being where they were, and seemed to treat it like a day out more than being in another country! But I did get the feeling they knew where they were heading. If it was me, I'd have looked for a boat at Calais, or asked someone there, and looked for mussels there too, then went to see where the Market was, to see what they had.

I think their out of shot guide was Karren, who looked as if she wished she was elsewhere

I'll continue watching the show to see how it pans out

It was pure coincidence, that's why I don't think they would have invented such an unlikely scenario. Also Karren seemed genuinely surprised. She's isn't that good an actress. It's not as if champagne flutes are hard to find in shops either, is it?

They know where they are going because they have maps and directories. When en route to a shop, which might be a few miles drive, how do you expect them to behave in the car?

What would be the advantage of buying the boat in France? It would be one less item the English team could have found.

If Karren or Claude is guiding them then it makes a mockery of the show.

Remember that they don't actually find the places themselves. The addresses are presumably in their directory, and the drivers take them there.

Its not somuch a fishmonger. There must be fish dealers in working harbours on both coasts. I expect they could have got mussels, and maybe snails as well in calais.

But they were handed the glasses on a plate as it were, and I wouldn't say they were easy to find. As for coincidences, I don't think they should be on a TV show, as people would notice and wonder what's going on. If it was a real coincidence, then well and good, but it would stick in mind that it happened.

There are many advantages in buying big items in France and taking them back home again, as we were going to buy a caravan from a couple who lived in France, and were selling it. but at the last moment we decided we couldn't take their deal of paying upfront for it, but had we been able to we'd have had a holiday from it, and taken it back with us to England. So a boat wouldn't have been a problem, as we could have sold it along the way.

I'm not disputing anything you say btw, it's what I noticed which made me wonder, and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a setup, as it seems to be the sort of thing which happens these days, and one takes notice of it. Years ago I never did and watched the show warts and all, enjoying a lot of it. If I see something funny I'll say so.

Karren might not be a good actress, but she's very expressive when the needs arises, like most of us

Good to have maps etc with one on long journeys, but they show how to get to where you're going, but they don't tell you that's where you should go. Where one should go is something LS would tell them, and they have to look it up in the map, or the driver knows.

That's the thing re how they looked, or behaved, on their way to shops, one did what I do when we go shopping 12 miles away, look out the window to see what's new or not. The fields and trees looked pretty during their journey, and would have liked to see more of the countryside. From their visages you won't think they were abroad.

Clearly not that well, Hastings is in Sussex...

Buit why set it up? Why give the girl's team an unfair advantage? Flutes would be easy to buy anyway. It's not as if he offered something which was hard to find otherwise. You agree with me that coincidences don't make good TV. So why would they set up such a thing? I don't think you are thinking this through.


Both subteams have a car so buying large items is no advantage in France. And of course you have to negotiate in French too.

I don't see how your caravan story is at all relevant.


If it is as set up as you suspect then the programme simply isn't worth watching.


That is why they have directories too. The directories help identify the shops to try, and the map tells them how to get there. It's not rocket science.


But they aren't there as tourists and the countryside in France doesn't look much different to anywhere else. They are in a competition and their minds aren't on the scenery.

Remember that the girls' team features eight people, none of whom (with the possible exception of the eventual winner, if it turns out to be a girl) will be able to be prevented from talking about their experiences afterwards. If it was that set up, there would be a risk of it coming out, and the show's credibility ruined. And as others have said, it wouldn't seem to be worth such a huge risk for such a minor thing that didn't create much entertainment and will have been forgotten by the majority of viewers by next week at the latest. What would be the point?

Perhaps not re the caravan story, and all it meant was big advantages to be had. Some minds were on the scenery, and in a sense they were tourists. But perhaps they look the same when in their own country. I do understand their directories and maps.
My husband also thought it was partly setup, as I asked his thoughts on the program, and he added that they've all been setup to be a certain way, like these sorts of shows would be. He's also watched watched the Apprentice as long as I have.

I suppose in a way the Apprentice has to be set up or partly setup, as it might not work otherwise. I do agree, coincidences aren't good for TV shows, and if one happens then better not to show it.

Re the girl's unfair advantage, I did think it through, as I was struck by the occurrence of it happening. Karren was more edgy than she used to be, which could mean anything of course. I'd have to re-watch the clip of her being so cross, another time. Would be good if Karren came and told us, everything's ok.

nn for now as I have to go, as I got a bad reaction from some lip cream, which I hope calms down.

Lord Suralun did seem to allude to this in the boardroom, I think. He said something like "items being strategically placed where you should've been able to find them".

What the teams seem to always miss is the simple question of "ok so you don't have X in stock, know anyone who does?" the lads dropped on the mirror since the flute guy had another store with them in stock and they asked the right question at that point.