After eliminations, a teary Autumn hugs her new teammates, a possible sign that they're ready to put the past behind them and will now work together. Benjamin admits Autumn is a step up from Fran, and Autumn says she's glad to be back.

The next morning, Chef Ramsay presents the day's challenge: Each team is given a 10-pound lobster, and both teams must divide it up so that each team member can make his or her own creative dish. Nilka and Benjamin argue over who gets the tail and end up splitting it, and over in the Blue Kitchen, the guys are unsure about Ed's plan to grill his lobster tail. To even up the competition, the Red Team is asked to disqualify their worst dish, and they decide to get rid of Nilka's potato puree with lobster.

Chef Ramsay introduces a panel of guest judges, three chefs who've received Michelin stars, including Michael Cimarusti, Josiah Citrin, and David LeFevre. David LeFevre judges the first round, featuring Holli's butter-poached lobster against Ed's poached and grilled lobster tail medallions. David declares Ed's lobster too rubbery, and Chef Ramsay agrees. The point goes to Holli and the Red Team.

Next up, Michael Cimarusti judges Jason's gigantic lobster tail and polenta along with Autumn's lobster stir fry. Michael decides Autumn's dish just isn't refined enough and gives the Blue Team the point. And finally, with the score tied, it's Josiah Citrin's turn to vote. He calls Benjamin's poached lobster tail with parsnip puree "sloppy" and declares Jay's lobster knuckle raw, ultimately giving neither of them a point.

Chef Ramsay rewards the point to the person with the best dish overall, Holli, which gives the Red Team the win. They're rewarded with a trip to a caviar house for caviar and Champagne followed by a $1000 shopping spree.

Meanwhile, Ed, Jay, and Jason are punished with cleaning the dorms and prepping both kitchens for that night's service. The guys are more than disappointed. But things get worse for them when they take so long prepping the Red Kitchen that they completely fall behind on their own prep. They're in luck, though. Prior to opening the doors, Chef Ramsay announces that they will all be cooking in the Red Kitchen together. Since tonight's diners have tickets to the theater after dinner, the chefs have just two-and-a-half hours to get all of the customers fed and out the door. There will also be a caviar course served table-side by Holli.

Nilka makes the first mistake of the night on the very first table when she undercooks her scallop appetizer. When the chefs move on to entrees, she fumbles once again by undercooking her fish, and she later gets so frazzled she drops a tray of lobster. But the final straw comes when she serves the wrong sauce with an entree and is taken aside by Chef Ramsay. She immediately bursts into tears. He tells her to get a grip and if she can't hack it… she's out. She's got to come back, and it's now or never.

Benjamin is the next target of Chef Ramsay's wrath when he stumbles on the garnish station. Jason, however, is the only chef to earn compliments from Chef for getting his entrees out in a timely manner and cooking them well to boot.

Nilka's night goes further south when she undercooks yet another item: lobster. No one is surprised when Chef Ramsay promptly kicks her out of the kitchen and then asks that she take her jacket off. But Nilka isn't giving up that easily and returns to the kitchen to beg Chef Ramsay to let her stay. As her kitchen meltdown continues, Chef Ramsay insists that she leave and enlists the other contestants to help get her out. She finally accepts her fate. The kitchen starts getting into a groove, and they complete dinner service with time to spare.

Nilka's nightmare continues as she packs her bags between sobs. When she heads outside, Chef Ramsay is waiting by her taxi and gives her a final pep talk. He tells her that though she's not ready for a head chef's job, she can still continue following her dream and that she's done phenomenally well.

Back in the kitchen, he tells the remaining six chefs that it was their best service ever. He notes that Ed had a shaky start but fought back and that Jason cooked every piece of meat to perfection and led the kitchen well. He asks them all to go up to the dorms and come to a consensus on which two chefs to nominate for elimination. As the six of them hash it out, Jason votes for Ed and Autumn, while Autumn and Benjamin agree that Ed and Jason should be put on the chopping block. Jason, of course, disagrees.

The chefs march back into the dining room where Benjamin announces that Ed is the first nominee since he slowed down the service and needed help on his station. As for the second nominee, Benjamin explains they've chosen Autumn because she's the weakest cook. Ed says he'll keep battling back, but Chef Ramsay reminds him he burnt dry pans tonight without even noticing. Autumn explains that she should stay because she bounced back tonight. They both breathe a sigh of relief when Chef Ramsay announces that all of them are staying in the final six and hands out those coveted black jackets. He congratulates them all, but warns it's only going to get harder from here.