Food Network Chef Reportedly Stopped Paying Rent for 4 Years, and Now We Might Know Why

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all had to make difficult decisions about how to recover and move forward. Whether those decisions are emotional and involve personal relationships, or practical, revolving around finances and employment, they’ve been extremely hard for some people to reckon with. Those choices haven’t just been limited to those of us who don’t regularly appear on TV. Celebrity chef and Food Network guest star Madison Cowan now finds himself dealing with the fallout of his devastating financial downfall.

According to WABC, a judge has ordered Cowan to move out of his Brooklyn apartment. He reportedly hasn’t paid the $2,750 a month rent on his one bedroom apartment since January 2020.

This is the latest in multiple evictions, with marshals recently trying to evict him, but unable to due to Cowan filing an appeal. Per the outlet, he stated in civil court that he couldn’t pay because his employment was “seriously impacted by the pandemic,” explaining to the judge, “I couldn’t get a job. It all went away.” Cowan is also claiming the public nature of this situation is making things worse. Unfortunately for him, this explanation didn’t change the judge’s mind and the eviction still stands.

We don’t know Madison Cowan’s life. It’s certainly possible that the pandemic hit him just as hard as it hit many others in the food and beverage industry. However, it’s hard to believe that someone with his skills, resume and connections wouldn’t be able to find some sort of sustained employment, so he could pay his rent.

In the past, he’s appeared on Food Network’s “Chopped” and “Iron Chef America.” Most recently, he competed on Seasons 3 and 4 of “Tournament of Champions,” which aired in 2022 and 2023 respectively. We don’t know exactly when these series were filmed, but it was presumably in the last four years. We also don’t know what he was paid for his time—he was eliminated in the first round during both seasons—but if your landlord sees you on TV, they’re not hearing your excuses about being out of work.

Is this a case of a rough pandemic fallout, or is this a situation where someone is reluctant to make some of those difficult decisions the rest of us have to make. The only thing that is clear in all this is that Cowan’s time is up and he now must move within two weeks, or be evicted yet again. His landlord, who didn’t want to be on camera with WABC, said he’ll believe this is over when the chef is actually out.