Anisa Khan, 26, was chosen by Lord Sugar as one of the two finalists in the BBC business competition.
She will face air conditioning salesman Dean Franklin in the final next Thursday, after beating fellow contestants Amber-Rose Badrudin, Chisola Chitambala, and Jordan Dargan in the interview stage.
Ms Khan is the owner of Bombay Pizza, which she launched in a bid to bring bold Indian Italian fusion to the high street.
Bestsellers include the Chicken Tikka Masala pizza, Aloo Gobi, Vegan Bombay Brinjal, and Tandoori Wings.
Anisa Khan and Lord Alan Sugar (Image: Yui Mok)
She is not only a self-described “go-getter” but also an English Kabaddi player.
Speaking about reaching the final, Ms Khan said: “I was really happy, but when I went into this competition my mindset was always to win.
“I kept my eye on the prize.
“So even though the losses, obviously, weren’t planned and they had a bit of impact on me because no-one wants to lose every single week, a part of me knew I’d always make it to the final because I kept that mindset.
“And there’s something I did as well, which is I had planned my outfit for the final, which is a cultural outfit.
“I actually brought that into the house with me.
“I was like, ‘I’m going all the way to the final so I need to get my final outfit ready’, I had the outfit ready in my wardrobe because I knew I was going to wear it.
“It’s a bit like manifesting.
“Why not?
“That’s what kept me going, especially when I had all the losses, I was like, ‘It doesn’t really matter because I’m still going to be in the final’.”
Mr Franklin said making it to the final was “a dream” and described the achievement as “massive”.
He also praised Ms Khan for “smashing it” on the programme, and said he had “nothing but respect for her”.
The final will see “familiar faces” return to help create brands and advertising campaigns, before the pair give their final pitch in an attempt to convince the 78-year-old businessman to make them his business partner and invest £250,000.
Ms Khan described Mr Franklin as a “worthy opponent” and said she thought his business idea could “make a lot of money”.
She said winning would allow her to grow her company into a “million-pound business” and added she also wanted it to be “a win for people who feel like I represent them as well”, should she take home Lord Sugar’s investment.
Mr Franklin said the best part of winning the show would be making his family “proud”, adding that he wanted his children to “go into school the next morning and say, ‘my dad’s won The Apprentice’,” adding that “no other dad in that school has done that”.
During the interview stage, Ms Khan impressed with her pizzas, with Mark Soutar ordering one of her company’s pizzas prior to the interview and telling her there were “serious problems” such as the order being late, but described his food as “delicious” calling it a “five star pizza”.
Mr Franklin tripped up during his interview with Mark Soutar as he described climate change as “climate control” and was shown a picture posted to his social media of a sex toy attached to an air conditioning unit, which Soutar felt was unprofessional.
The Apprentice final will air on Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
