Artisan baker ‘euphoric’ after winning final of The Apprentice
ARTISAN BAKERY boss Carina Lepore has said she is “euphoric” after winning The Apprentice’s final.
The south London businesswoman, 30, secured a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar, who told her across the boardroom: “You’re hired.”
She faced recruitment company owner Scarlett Allen-Horton, 32, last night, after the pair were whittled down from 16 entrepreneurs.
Lepore said: “It’s like this euphoric relief. I was so overwhelmed and so happy. It’s a feeling that I haven’t really felt. It was overwhelming happiness.
“Me and Scarlett said it the whole way through – we have got massive respect for each other. She is a great businesswoman and she was tough competition for me. I knew that. To get told ‘You’re hired’ by Lord Sugar, it was an incredible feeling.”
WINNER:
Last night’s final on BBC One saw the candidates fired earlier in the series return to help the two remaining contestants bring their business plans to life.
Allen-Horton and Lepore were summoned to London’s Sky Garden skyscraper and told they would need to produce a digital screen and a TV advert for their businesses. They would both then pitch their ideas to Lord Sugar and 250 experts at City Hall.
Lepore wanted a family feel for her bakery and opted for the name Lepore’s Artisan Bakehouse. The tagline was “too good to share”.
Meanwhile, Allen-Horton and her team were working away on her recruitment business, which had the aim of “promoting female, minority and diverse talent through the ranks”.
Announcing Lepore as the winner, he quipped: “I’m trying to think of the scaling up of your business, but I like the idea of more bread – so Carina, you’re going to be my business partner.”
Following her win, Lepore said she was an “inside-out fan” and had watched every one of the previous 14 series before applying.
“It’s an incredible show and it’s been an incredible process.”