Episode 808 | Season 8 | 04/19/2009 
Last week, Mr. Trump tasked teams Athena and KOTU with creating a fashion show/charity auction of his daughter Ivanka's jewelry line, with Annie and Joan going head to head as project managers. Determined to crush Joan, Annie called some heavy hitting poker friends, so KOTU decided on a risky strategy: pooling their money to go after the least expensive piece, thus garnering the greatest profit. The only catch? Natalie selected small pieces of jewelry, which Joan knows won't present well on the runway. Meanwhile, Annie forged a clique with Brande, leaving Melissa out in the cold.
On the morning of the auction, Ivanka and last year's winner Piers Morgan visit the KOTU war room, expecting to see a hive of activity. Instead, according to Piers, they're greeted by two clowns (Herschel and Clint) chatting up their young models. Herschel claims their strategy involves using their respective Rolodexes to make as much profit as they can. Piers thinks Joan may win the competition -- how's that going to work out with Melissa? Joan claims it's all fair as long as Melissa loses because she should lose. If Melissa gets thrown under the bus, Joan will walk. Ivanka smiles, admitting that if she were thrown under the bus, her father would be disappointed in her for getting in its way.
Brande is thrilled when Ivanka and Piers visit Athena's war room because Piers was her favorite last season. Privately, Melissa comments that Brande is throwing her boobies in Piers's face. Piers relays Joan's comments to Melissa, who knows that her mother would expect her not to take the fall for anyone. So if Athena loses, who gets thrown under the bus? Brande reminds that Annie made it clear from the start: whoever brings in the least money goes. Right now, it's a toss up between Jesse and Melissa. Brande notices that once Piers and Ivanka leave, Melissa finally starts working the phone. Why did she wait until just hours before the auction?
Annie's phone rings. It's poker champion Phil Hellmuth, Jr., who's called to inform her that a mutual friend hooked him up with Natalie, who asked a donation. Furious, Annie storms back to Athena's war room and locks the door -- seemingly oblivious to the fact that everyone can hear her screaming at the mutual friend over the phone. Does he realize that Natalie played him? Joan shakes her head in disbelief at Annie's venom. Melissa muses that Natalie used a clever ploy out of Annie's book, and it's sent Annie round the bend. Annie informs Natalie that she told Phil if he donated to KOTU she would kill him. Amused, Jesse asks the women if they're going to cage match. Although Natalie got the exact reaction she wanted from Annie, she laments that ultimately, she didn't get any money.
With 45 minutes left until the auction, Melissa gets busy putting the finishing touches on the runway show. She didn't raise much money, but knows that she outworked both Annie and Brande, and she did a great job picking the jewelry and putting the show together. Sadly, kudos for good work aren't exactly forthcoming from Annie. She thinks Melissa just doesn't get it. Picking the jewelry is great, but this is really all about the Benjamins. Back at the KOTU war room, Clint counts out a giant wad of cash. They've lumped all their donations together and will have their guy Stewart bid on the least expensive piece to yield the highest margin of profit.
Nervous, Annie surveys the audience at New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology, moments before the auction is slated to begin. She's relieved to spy her poker buddies Andy Black and Perry Friedman, along with Scott Ian, lead guitarist of Anthrax. Brande's friend Stewie Rahrah told her that he would bid anywhere from $0 to $1 billion, but Annie's still nervous that her donors' pockets aren't deep enough to earn the win for Athena. Once Mr. Trump arrives with his wife Melania, the auction is finally ready to begin.
While Melissa takes charge backstage and Brande prepares to model, Annie starts the auction, quickly impressing Donald. Jesse remarks that once Annie knows where the money is, she goes for it like a bear after salmon. The jewelry looks great, and Annie gets the audience pumped, while pumping impressive dollars out of Athena's ringers and into their coffer. Backstage, Clint outlines his strategy: he'll start the bidding at an amount far higher than an item's worth, building in a failsafe profit margin.
As auctioneer for KOTU, Clint takes the mike, and the atmosphere in the room plummets. No one bids on the first item, which can barely be seen from the audience. Inexplicably refusing to accept less than $20,000, Clint moves on to the second item. Reluctant to steal Clint's thunder, Joan stays backstage, wringing her hands. Clint taps Donald for a bid, joking that he saw him wearing these earrings yesterday, compelling a mortified Piers to apologize to Ivanka. Stewie saves everyone's face with the only bid on the second item, buying the earrings for a measly $12,000.
Natalie runs to Joan -- they need to send out their ringer item, so their guy Stewart can buy them and create some excitement. Joan yells to Clint that the next model isn't ready and sends out the ringer, an onyx ring, but Clint gets confused and starts talking about earrings. Joan swings into action and pokes her head onto the stage to set things right, cracking a joke. With Natalie's encouragement, Joan joins Clint at the mike to save KOTU's auction from total disaster. Afterwards, Joan applauds KOTU's strategy. In the long run and the short run, it's all about how much money they brought in.
In the boardroom, Donald congratulates everyone on a great job, and quickly focuses on Melissa's skill at selecting Athena's jewelry -- it must run in the family. When Donald asks Annie to identify her weakest player, she allows that Jesse and Melissa brought in the least money. Piers jumps in, focusing on Jesse. Last season, Piers won because he shamelessly went about raising the largest sum of money. Isn't Jesse married to one of the biggest movie stars in the world? Why isn't he exploiting this resource? In the end it's all for charity. Stony-faced, Jesse will only say that he doesn't mix business with pleasure.
Donald turns to KOTU. Wouldn't Joan have made a better auctioneer than Clint? Joan explains that Clint asked to be auctioneer, and the whole team needs to participate; they're not a one-man band. Neither Donald nor Ivanka are happy with the jewelry KOTU picked. It was hard to see and Ivanka felt it made her look "a little bad" when no one was bidding. Clint apologizes, explaining he was trying for the opposite effect. Natalie admits that she picked the jewelry. Based on what Ivanka said, she may have made some mistakes.
Joan defends KOTU's strategy of putting all their donations into one package to optimize their limited war chest. Piers asks why the war chest wasn't larger and Donald points out that Joan has a Rolodex similar to his own. Why didn't she call them? When Joan claims she did, Melissa jumps in. This is a conversation better held offline. Piers demands to know why Melissa is defending someone from the other team, Melissa explains that she thought he was speaking disrespectfully to her mother -- it's hard not to have a hair trigger when it comes to defending your family.
When Annie accuses Joan of being very disrespectful of Ivanka, Joan lets it rip, calling Annie a despicable human being and a perfect poker player. Melissa covers her face as Joan calls Annie out for trash talking her new BFF Brande behind her back and taking ownership of everyone else's ideas. Trump can't believe it -- Annie seems so nice! Joan snorts. People thought Hitler was nice, too. Annie pipes up. Regardless of what anyone may think of her, she succeeded in getting her friends on a 6:00 a.m. flight to attend the auction. Joan wonders if all of Annie's friends hold her in the same regard, considering her screaming phone conversation yesterday. Natalie explains the Phil Hellmuth situation, causing Piers to wonder why Joan brought this story up. Ivanka chimes in -- isn't the punch line that Annie is effective?
Donald wonders if Melissa is torn between her mother and her team. Melissa clarifies: she's just trying to be the fact-check police. Annie rocked the challenge, but she's a different person outside the boardroom. None of this makes her a bad person, just a brilliant game player. When Jesse jokes that he feels like he just watched a re-enactment of his last family reunion, the tension eases. Donald closes the book on the argument, admiring Melissa for her family loyalty.
Ivanka informs everyone that KOTU raised an impressive $92,000, mostly through the sale of one piece. Piers has bigger news: Athena's auction cleared a profit of $153,000, and they have won the day! Donald points out that the grand total of $245,000 is a record on Celebrity Apprentice for the biggest amount raised in one week, and the running total of money raised thus far is more than double last season's earnings. Annie is thrilled that her charity, Refugees International, will receive a giant check.
Immediately upon leaving the boardroom, Annie lays into Melissa for Joan calling her Hitler. Melissa wants to know why it's her fault -- she couldn't just sit by and watch her mother take a blood bath. All she did was try to end it. Besides, Joan is a 76-year-old woman, and Melissa doesn't control her. Fuming and spewing obscenities, Annie resolves that Joan is completely dead to her and may never speak to her again.
With Athena out of the boardroom, Donald turns his attention to firing a member of KOTU. Why did Joan let Natalie pick the jewelry? Natalie has always shown good taste in jewelry, and she's young and fresh, just like Ivanka. Still, Joan admits that Athena's picks were better. When Donald asks Joan who she would fire, she breaks down and cries, unable to choose. She loves her team, and was hoping that Herschel would marry Melissa on the final episode. Trump won't fire Herschel since he brought in the most money. And even though Clint wasn't the best auctioneer, it was really the jewelry selection that was the ultimate problem. Not only did Natalie make the wrong choices, she didn't bring in much money, either, so it's time for her to go.
Both teams are sad to see Natalie go, but she's proud of KOTU for raising so much money for charity. She enjoyed working for Mr. Trump -- he's her first boss ever, and this is her first firing ever. Melissa meets Joan in the lounge's foyer, warning her not to throw flames on a volatile situation, as she's already this close to quitting. Joan promises she won't let Annie give her a heart attack, and team KOTU toasts Annie's win. Trying to make peace, Melissa commends everyone for earning a lot of money for a fantastic cause. When Annie cracks that she's going to give the money to a Hitler charity, Joan snorts. Herschel pulls Annie into his arms as she tells Joan never to speak to her again, which Joan is perfectly happy to do.
It's a rainy day in New York City as Annie meets Ken Bacon of Refugees International for lunch. Annie's charity is dedicated to the protection and assistance of refugees worldwide. Ken explains that fewer refugees mean a safer and more stable world for everyone. Annie is thrilled to hand Ken a check for $245,000, the proceeds from the jewelry auction. Admitting that Refugees International has never had such a large donation, Ken promises to think of Annie when he's at the poker table earning money for refugees.
Teams KOTU and Athena find themselves assembled in The Donald's own dining room at Trump Tower. Donald loves food, and he knows that in this economy, people are turning to frozen food for a fast, inexpensive alternative, which is what this week's task is all about. Mr. Trump introduces Scott McNair of Schwan's, a company that makes and delivers restaurant quality frozen meals. Each team will create a new signature meal for Schwan's LiveSmart line, along with a marketing campaign, which will be judged primarily for originality and great taste. The team with the best meal will win $20,000 for their project manager's chosen charity.
For this task, Donald will be joined by Ivanka, and Joe Kernan, co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk Box. They'll be going to one of Trump's favorite restaurants, Fresco by Scotto, where they'll be joined by Scott and a fellow Schwan's exec to sample the two meals. Team Athena chooses Jesse to be their project manager, and he's determined to keep infighting to a minimum. Hershel takes KOTU's reins, explaining that both Clint and Joan want him in charge so they won't have to deal directly with each other. Since there are only three of them left, Herschel knows everyone will have to get along, or it's not going to work.
Scott and a fellow Schwan's exec meet with the teams to clarify the task. Schwan's customer service reps, or CSMs, are the face of their company, since they sell to customers in their homes. They're looking for something unique, that's not currently like what's on their extensive menu. The LiveSmart line is all about health and wellness solutions for families. Bottom line, the meal has to taste great, and the marketing campaign should feature messaging that highlights convenience.
In their war room at the International Culinary Center, Jesse urges team Athena to pin down their menu. Annie is already on Schwan's website, and has discovered that one of the top sellers in their regular product line is Italian-style meatballs. Why not try Annie's low-fat turkey meatballs? No one thinks the meatball idea sounds that appetizing, but Annie persists. Melissa suggests a chili, and Brande likes the sound of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Annie keeps plugging away, suggesting gluten-free pasta for greater marketability. Trying to avoid drama, Jesse decides that Annie and Brande can team up to cook all three dishes, and they'll pick the best one. Jesse will handle the marketing along with Melissa.
Since the first word Joan taught Melissa was room service, she takes herself out of the running as cook, so Herschel steps up. Despite the fact that he's a vegetarian, Herschel is convinced they need to feature a skinless chicken breast, since it has the highest customer rating on Schwan's website. Clint doesn't think chicken will be original enough, but when Herschel accuses him of arguing, he backs down and suggests a recipe his wife makes at home: slowly pan-frying chicken in ginger and soy sauce, so it soaks up all the flavor.
When Ivanka visits KOTU, Clint interrupts Herschel to explain that they'll be making his wife's chicken recipe. Ivanka knows her father would never eat a dish like this, but she would. After she leaves, Herschel decides that he'll make sweet potatoes and green beans to accompany the chicken. When Joan points out that they need a dessert, Herschel resolves to make a yoghurt and berry parfait.
Melissa tries to bounce marketing ideas off Jesse, but he's absorbed in his laptop, and completely uncommunicative. Joe stops by just as Annie and Brande return with groceries. When he asks if they think Schwan's will put a premium on something innovative, Annie explains that gluten-free pasta should fill the bill, especially for people who have wheat allergies or celiac disease. The girls head to the kitchen, where they're met by Schwan's food specialists, who will help ensure that their recipes stay within LiveSmart's guidelines. Annie immediately takes charge, boasting that she's a fast chef, because she has to cook for her four kids, irritating an exhausted looking Brande.
Clint and Herschel debate. Apparently, there's some issue with using yoghurt for the dessert, but Herschel doesn't want to hear it, preferring to conclude that Clint is just arguing for the sake of argument. Besides, Herschel owns a food business, which probably earns more than Clint's record business. Aware of his reputation as an arguer, Clint claims that he was just trying to protect his project manager with his concerns about the yoghurt. Maybe what he's supposed to learn at this phase of the game is to let Herschel hang himself with his own rope.
Even though Herschel is supposed to be the chef, Clint steps in to prepare his wife's chicken recipe. Herschel thinks the sauce is too salty, but lets Joan be the ultimate judge. Joan agrees -- they have to change the recipe. When Clint balks, Joan spies some oranges and suggests they add them to the sauce to cut the salt. Everyone's happy with the outcome, Orange Asian-Style Chicken. Team Athena tastes their three dishes. Jesse can't stop eating the chili, but Annie insists that her turkey meatballs are the best, and she should know, because she made all three dishes. Brande points out that it's easy to get chili from a can, but the meatballs are original and different. Jesse succumbs to peer pressure and selects the meatballs, then leaves to finish the marketing campaign.
Clint and Joan team up to create KOTU's marketing campaign. Herschel reminds them that Schwan's sets great store by their CSMs, so Clint concocts a marketing plan featuring himself. Joan acknowledges that Herschel should be the one making the decisions, but as usual, Clint is going to do whatever he wants to do. Melissa lies on the floor trying to come up with names for Athena's meal, while Jesse remains silent. Annie checks in to comment that it looks like they've been at it for too long -- do they need her help? When Jesse confirms that there's three meatballs to a serving, Melissa comes up with the name "Triple Play Turkey Meatballs." All three of the women feel as if Jesse is locking them out of preparing Athena's presentation, so when he suggests they leave him to finish, they do.
The next morning, Scott and his cohort arrive at Fresco for KOTU's presentation. As Herschel serves, Joan gives the lowdown on Orange Asian-Style Chicken -- only 480 calories! Clint jumps in to present their marketing campaign for television, featuring himself, receiving a delivery from a Schwan's CSM on his tour bus. Home cooked meals won't follow him around on a concert tour, but LiveSmart will! Joan presents Herschel's yoghurt dessert, which will be packaged separately. The execs think the chicken has great flavor, but don't quite get the dessert. Additional packaging means greater cost, and it looks like the dessert would have to be separated into three packages.
Worried about Jesse's presentation because they have no idea what it is, the women of Athena serve their Triple Play Meatballs, as Jesse launches his spiel. The gluten-free pasta draws immediate interest, as do the meatballs' secret ingredients: more vegetables. Kids will eat spinach without even knowing it's there! It's hearty made healthy, because Schwan's takes the hassle out of healthy. After Athena leaves, relieved that the presentation went well, the execs figure there's only one thing missing -- the marketing campaign!
In the boardroom, Donald asks Herschel who was the better worker on his team, Clint or Joan? On the spot, Herschel opts for Joan, explaining that Clint was as usual, argumentative. Clint claims that he was merely voicing his opinion, and once Herschel made a decision he was supportive. Herschel jumps in, starting an argument. Donald asks Annie about Jesse's performance, and she allows that in certain areas he was relatively impervious to suggestion. When Donald asks Melissa's opinion, she admits that there was some tension between Jesse and Annie. Donald and Joe are curious: Jesse seems to be such a low-key guy, so how is it that Sandra Bullock is so in love with her husband? They conclude that Jesse is not only intense, but he must be great in bed.
Joe reports Schwan's take on the two meals. Team Athena's use of gluten-free ingredients was a great innovation, but they had no marketing campaign. The execs also liked KOTU's dish, since it tasted great and was easy to create, but the dessert was too difficult to put together. In the end, Schwan's liked Athena's meal better. Jesse wins $20,000 for his charity, the Long Beach Education Foundation, which rebuilds industrial arts programs for inner city kids.
With team Athena out of the board room, Donald drills down to try to make the difficult decision of who to fire. When he consults Joan, she begins to cry, unable to choose. Donald claims project manager Herschel didn't have complete control over Clint. Herschel points out that if he had come down on Clint he would have lost him, but that's not good enough for Mr. Trump. Ultimately, the decisions were all Herschel's and it was his dessert that lost the challenge. Although he's not a gay man, Donald loves Herschel, but he's still got to fire him. In the lobby, Joan asks Herschel for his mother's address, so she can tell her what a good job she did raising her son. Herschel thinks Donald made the wrong decision, but he's resigned to it. Besides, he met a lot of great people on the show, and that's worth more than anything.
這集Annie說得很清楚，完全看錢的多少決定進入會議室人選。KOTU的策略有兩個，一個是集中所有資金，投標最低價的珠寶，使淨利潤最高。二、尋找Annie撲克牌界的對手，以子之矛攻其之盾，真是太厲害了，可惜最後對手倒戈，不然還真的有得看。也因為這件事，Annie在辦公室火大到可以在他頭上炒菜了。
活動現場，Annie完全是吸金機，重要的是，他很會帶氣氛，營造氛圍，這是Clint完全不行的，簡直天差地遠。看Clint拍賣，現場完全鴉雀無聲，甚至還將耳環說成手鐲，自己還不知道，非常尷尬，還好John river即時跳出來，不然整個拍賣會被KOTU搞得烏煙瘴氣。想當然爾，一定是Annie大獲全勝。
KOTU輸的理由不外乎有二，一、珠寶選得不好，二、投標資金太少。而Natalie 是選珠寶的人，而且她又沒帶來多少錢，理所當然開除她。
會議室中，John對Annie展現極大不滿，用盡所有能力羞辱Annie，而Annie甚至怪罪Melissa 沒有阻止她媽媽。但我覺得John說的完全正確，Annie根本就是雙面人，牆頭草。我也不喜歡她。
下個任務，是對a company that makes and delivers restaurant quality frozen meals. Each team will create a new signature meal for Schwan's LiveSmart line，並且做營運策略報告。
雙方Leader是Hershel 和Jesse。Hershel 應該是可以減少摩擦的人，所以由他帶領John and Clint。Jesse則是還沒當過領導者。Annie當廚師，做新菜，所有一切都被要求往Annie的方向走去，而且她在廚房一直炫耀自己，真的很OOXX。Hershel 選擇雞胸肉，Clint提供家傳食譜，結果做出來的，非常鹹，就像是喝了醬油再吃雞肉一樣。John提議加入柳橙汁，哇靠，我光想到就流口水了。最後成品色澤紅潤，真是我的菜阿！唯一的缺點是搭配優格，這是冷凍食品技術還未到的地步，尤其上面加上水果，都必須要分開包裝，大大提高生產成本。
Jesse選擇蔬菜丸義大利麵，因為搭配最夯的無麩質麵條，吸引了評審的眼光。
就營運策略而言，Clint又是他，甚麼都要出風頭，連營運策略也是。至於內容則是普通，因為就是借用名人效應，那個人就是他自己。相反的，Jesse則是完全沒有營運策略，甚至決策過程，Jesse也不讓隊員參與，我在猜，他是怕人多嘴雜，不如自己用。
綜觀兩隊，一個菜色好，但沒有營運策略，一個菜色相對沒那麼好，但有名人效應營運策略。
最後評審選的是Jesse。Hershel 因為無法控制Clint，以及優格的搭配，導致被開除。
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