Top Chef Week 6

Now that they know the do's and don'ts of catering a bridal shower, the chefs can now move on to the next tasks at hand. Cooking for the doyenne of domesticity, Martha Stewart, and entertaining celebrities at a holiday party.

The Quickfire Challenge started off with Padma greeting the chefs with a holiday spread of ingredients on the table. The chefs had to create a holiday meal using only one pot in 45 minutes. For holiday cooking?! And who would be guest judging this insane challenge? None other than Martha Stewart, whose arrival took everyone by surprise. Open mouths and gasps all around. Leah called her "badass." Martha advised the chefs to "make it simple, but not too simple." Jamie and Ariane often work next to each other and taste each other's dishes. Jamie said her food is more innovative while Ariane is more classic. Jamie decided on sea scallops with a potato kale stew, which Martha said was "well made." Hosea made paella with chicken, fish, and chorizo and Martha and Padma both liked it very much. Jeff cut potatoes to resemble Arborio rice and made a potato risotto with crispy pork and Brussels sprouts, which Martha dubbed "pungent" and "heavy." Ariane created a cauliflower gratin with an herb rubbed filet mignon that Martha thought was "excellent." Fabio talked of being a 6-year-old and being "evil" and his grandma made him stir polenta in order to not go out and get in trouble. He added mushrooms and seared duck breast and Martha dismissed it as "grayish." Fabio said his grandma would be "ashamed" of Martha because of her comment. Eugene's crispy pork stew with chili pepper broth was thickened with cornstarch, and Martha hated the way it turned out. Martha crowned fellow Jersey girl Ariane the winner. She received immunity and an autographed copy of Martha's new cookbook. This upset Jamie, who is still frustrated about not winning anything yet and keeps losing to Ariane.

As for the Elimination Challenge, Padma told the chefs they would be catering a star-studded party for the AIDS charity, amfAR. Then the Harlem Gospel Choir came out and sang for the chefs. The chefs drew knives and there were numbers on them. The choir then sang the respective lyric from "The 12 Days of Christmas." The idea was to cook a dish inspired by the assigned lyric for 250 people. Tony Award winning actress and amfAR board member Natasha Richardson and chef Michelle Bernstein would be guest judging and appearing at Judges' Table.

The next morning, the chefs hit a wall. One of the refrigerators was left open and much of the food was spoiled. Hosea and Radhika suffered the most. Hosea's pork tenderloin wasn't at a safe temperature and Radhika worked on 40 ducks that were now useless. The great thing about this mishap was that all of the chefs that weren't affected banded together to help their fellow teammates out. True Christmas spirit in the kitchen.

When Natasha came into the room, Stefan took an immediate liking to her, saying "Yum!" Natasha told the crowd at the party that "every bite counts" when judging and "every life counts" when helping the charity. AIDS ribbons would be placed on the favorite chef's table. Stefan had "Twelve drummers drumming" and made a creamy chicken potpie using drumstick meat. Padma and Natasha both liked it. Radhika drew the opener, "A partridge in a pear tree," and her braised duck leg on toasted brioche with chutney had Michelle saying the "seasoning was not so bad." Carla's take on "Two turtle doves" was a mushroom cap used to resemble the back of a turtle and topped with braised chicken. Tom called it "one note" and Michelle said it was "salty." Eugene's poisson cru with pineapple ring was a version of "Five golden rings." Michelle said it was really sweet. Fabio's "Nine ladies dancing" dish was a sweet corn and roasted red pepper crab cake using crab legs (legs=dancing). It was not a favorite of Padma's and Tom said it was "greasy" and "a lot of fat."

Jamie's "Seven swans swimming" was a crudo of sea scallop vichyssoise. Michelle called it "just wrong." Melissa's Gorgonzola and New York strip steak on sourdough crostini was a take on "Eight maids a-milking." It might have been too much milk because Michelle said the dish tasted like all cheese. Leah's "Three French hens" was braised guinea hens with puff pastry and butternut squash puree. Natasha thought the pastry was dull. Ariane decided to do six types of deviled eggs for "Six geese a-laying." Tom questioned the motive of the dish, saying, "Who wins with a deviled egg?" Hosea's smoked pork loin with chipotle mashed potatoes version of "Eleven pipers piping" had universal praise. Jeff's seared halloumi and Kasseri cheese was for "Ten lords a-leaping." Michelle said it had "nice roundness."

Some side dish: Before the fridge fiasco, Hosea was very confident in his dish. He said, "Unless everyone is serving $100 bills on plates, I'm not gonna lose." His dad was diagnosed with cancer one week before he left to join the show. Hosea felt guilty to leave, but he knows his dad wants him to win. Eugene didn't go to culinary school. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up in the kitchen. Fabio and Stefan are known in the house as "the Euros." Fabio said in the competition they're going to "beat the others first and then beat each other."

Despite some of the lackluster food, Tom had a holiday surprise for the chefs. In the spirit of Christmas, I'm not going to spoil it and say what it was. As for what's coming up, Gail will be on a hiatus because of her impending wedding. The clips of the new judge prove that he's going to be very tough to please. And after the stern talk Tom gave them about "cooking dishes that got them here," maybe this new critic will be just what they need to step up their game.