Celebrity chef Madison Cowan was evicted from his Brooklyn townhouse on Tuesday following a prolonged rent dispute with his landlords.

With a knock on the door and a turn of the key, the four-and-a-half-year ordeal came to an end. The apartment was empty, and Cowan was finally gone.

His landlord, Gus Sheha, expressed a mix of disheartenment, anger, and relief.

Sheha and his brother John own the property at 191 State Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Initially, they were impressed with their new tenant.

Cowan, known for creating world-class dishes on the Food Network and morning television, paid $2,750 a month for the first three months. However, he failed to make any further payments for the next four and a half years.

When Sheha approached Cowan about the overdue rent, the chef simply ignored him and continued upstairs.

The Shehas took Cowan to court and secured eviction orders, but Cowan repeatedly filed appeals, prolonging the process for years.

After his final court appearance in May, when the eviction order was upheld, Cowan quickly raced down five flights of stairs to avoid Eyewitness News cameras.

Cowan told the judge that his work had been “seriously impacted by the pandemic,” and the publicity surrounding his rent dispute had exacerbated the situation.

“I couldn’t get a job,” he said. “It all went away.”

Gus Sheha claims Cowan never contacted him during the pandemic or afterward to negotiate.

“I had reached out to him. I don’t believe a word he says,” Sheha remarked.

Attorney Chad Karp, a real estate law expert, explained the difficulties landlords face in such situations.

“You can start a case for non-payment of rent, and it could take you up to six to eight months before you’re even in front of a judge,” Karp said. “And at that point, it can take another 16, 18, 20 months before you get any recourse. The laws are there, essentially, to protect the masses. And the masses are the tenants in New York City.”