The cheftestants on Top Chef 5 kicked off the season well, with the judges remarking with pleasure how impressed they were with the overall quality the chefs served up. Unfortunately, the group wasn't able to continue the streak, and last week, Tom Colicchio put on his best Disappointed Dad face to admonish the chefs for their lackluster performance – in Tom's own kitchen, no less.

Can the chefs regain some ground this week? And can Ariane, who had landed in the bottom for the first two episodes, redeem herself and live to cook another day?

This episode starts with Ariane still feeling rattled, and noting her fellow chefs are probably questioning her skill. Fabio, on the other hand, is beaming from his Elimination Challenge win last week, but ready to face the new set of dragons to slay.

The chefs head to the kitchen for the Quickfire. Padma Lakshmi introduces the guest chef for the episode, Grant Achatz of the Chicago restaurant Alinea. He's well-known for his talent and molecular gastronomy innovation. One of the chefs notes he has also just recovered from cancer, which was, in an especially bitter twist, in his mouth. Fortunately, he announced he was cancer-free almost a year ago, and his sense of taste was not impaired.

The chefs are told the Quickfire Challenge will focus on their reactions to curveballs. They each draw a differently-numbered knife, which, Padma tells them, corresponds to a page in the Top Chef cookbook. They will have to make the recipe from that page, while adding their own personal twist.

The chefs get cracking, and some are having a better time than others. Leah feels confident about her recipe, Hung's Tuna Tartare. Melissa, on the other hand, has CJ and Tre's dish from the freezable pasta challenge, so she is having to work with ingredients selected for their suitably for freezing, not necessarily pure culinary delight.

But of course, the randomly-assigned recipe is not the only curveball. During their prep, Padma interrupts to tell them the challenge has changed and they must now all transform their dish into a soup.

Now Leah isn't quite so confident. She'll have to do a chilled soup in order to keep her tuna tartare raw, but only has white asparagus to use as an appropriate base, a flavor she dislikes. Jamie loves soup, though, and doesn't have any trouble converting Miguel's deconstructed falafel to that dish.

Those two land in the top, along with Daniel, who successful transformed ham and eggs to a hearty rustic soup.

The chefs called out with criticism include Richard, who ran out of time before he could add lime, a needed acid flavor; Ariane, who overcooked her lamb; Fabio, whose flavors were flat; and Melissa, whose Italian Wedding Soup did not impress.

Leah wins, and gets to pick her team for the Elimination Challenge. She picks Jamie, Hosea, Stefan, Fabio, Melissa and Radhika. They name themselves Team Sexy Pants.

The other remaining chefs – Ariane, Jeff, Carla, Daniel, Alex, Eugene and Richard aka Team Cougar – will be their opposing team in the challenge, which a video reveals to be to cook for the Foo Fighters. They will be making a Thanksgiving dinner for the band and their entourage (about sixty people, including vegans and vegetarians) and using the band's rider as a guideline for their favorites (chocolate-dipped frozen bananas and bacon).

The whole gang travels to the venue in Rochester, NY, and gets to see their temporary digs: an outdoor kitchen with only toaster ovens and microwaves. No fridges, no freezers, and only one burner.

The teams have to quickly regroup and re-strategize. Stefan and Ariane both have catering experience, and try to bring that expertise to their group. Jeff once again seems to rise to a leadership role, helping his group get organized.

After shopping, the chefs start cooking. The conditions were already difficult, and then it starts to rain. Some chefs are working through it. Scrappy Eugene rigs up a grill for his team out of some charcoal and a chafing dish. Despite her team's nervous attention to her turkey preparation, Ariane seems to have a handle on making sure everything gets done on time.

Daniel, on the other hand, is having trouble get his potatoes roasted and has to go to a Plan B of sticking them in the microwave. Jeff seems to be doing fine, but admits he's bit off a lot because he is one of the stronger chefs.

It's feeding time! The judges and the rock stars arrive, and Team Cougar is up first. The Foo Fighters and the judges are impressed with Ariane's Turkey, Alex's mac and cheese with bacon, and Eugene's smoked ham. They are less impressed with that team's starches (Daniel's underdone potatoes and Jeff's overdone spoonbread stuffing) and desserts (Carla's ho-hum cobbler, Jeff's baffling pumpkin mousse over berries, and Richard's banana s'mores with a vanilla cream that wilted to the appearance of, yes, spittle).

On Sexy Pants' side, the turkey is good, but no match for Ariane's. Their starches are better received, with their vegan stuffing winning high praise. Their desserts are quite a bit better than the Cougars'. Fabio did a pumpkin-based version of a tiramisu that impresses Tom Colicchio, and Hosea's fruit cobbler seems much more successful that Carla's.

The judges and Foo Fighters deliberate and Team Sexy Pants are the winners. They get to watch the concert, while the other team has to clean up.

Since the losing team was already announced, they head right back in to judging. Ariane, Eugene and Alex are all safe due to their success with their proteins. The desserts were the main problem, although Daniel is called out for his potato problem. Carla's dessert wasn't excellent, but the judges acknowledge it wasn't flawed either. Jeff's dessert and spoonbread were both failures, but his leadership efforts seem to pull his through.

It's Richard who is going home. His s'mores didn't have the crucial s'mores element of gooeyness or chocolateyness. His departure is wrenching, as he cries that he's tried for three seasons to get on the show. Team Rainbow is now left with just one member, Jamie.

We'll be talking to Richard after the holiday and learning about his take on his time on the show.