Local chef Gavin Kaysen said his intuition just told him beforehand he would be eliminated on the third episode of the Food Network's reality series, "The Next Iron Chef," on Sunday.

"I could just feel it. I can't explain it - it was just a gut feeling," he said. "Or maybe it was the way the judges looked."

Last Sunday, Kaysen and Mourou Ouattar, executive chef of Farrah Olivia in Alexandria, Va., were eliminated when the six remaining chefs were pushed to the limit. For that episode's challenge, the chefs were sent outdoors with a grill and a cooler of ingredients, chosen for them by one of their competitors. Chef Aaron Sanchez chose goosefoot (an herb like spinach), frogs' legs and raspberries for Kaysen, who proclaimed on the show that it was nothing less than "a brutal pick," a sort of "culinary sabotage, baby."

In the end, it was the lack of seasoning of his frogs' legs dish that sent Kaysen packing.

"There was a little confusion," he explained later. "Basically what happens is that every chef is given the same amount of time, 60 minutes, to compete, and then we set the camera up and pick names out of a hat to see who goes in what order" before the judges. "I was the first to go, and some of the frogs' legs fell off the bowl and into the ice water."

Kaysen explained later that when he tasted the frogs' legs earlier, they were well-seasoned; but when he replated the dish for the judges, he didn't think to season them again.

Though he may not be the "Next Iron Chef," Kaysen will soon be moving to New York.

"I'm really looking forward to Cafe Boulud," he said, though it will be hard to say goodbye to his friends and co-workers at the El Bizcocho restaurant at the Rancho Bernardo Inn.

Kaysen, who lives in San Diego, said his goodbye party was meant to take place on Monday but he couldn't get to the restaurant because of the wildfires raging across North County. The party will have to be rescheduled before he leaves on Nov. 1.

Kaysen said his "produce guy" lost part of his farm in the fires, but his house is safe; his "beef guy" had been evacuated from his home.

"These fires sure put underseasoned frogs' legs in perspective," said Kaysen.

- Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 740-3527 or rwebster@nctimes.com.