Mariusz Komenda, the “MasterChef Poland” semifinalist who publicly battled an aggressive brain tumor, has died at 44.
The chef, who competed on the show’s eighth season in 2019, died Wednesday, Polish news outlet roland-gazeta.pl first reported. TVN, the network that airs “MasterChef Poland,” confirmed his death in a social media statement.
“It is with great sadness that we received the news of Mariusz Komenda’s death,” the network wrote. “Mariusz was part of the ‘MasterChef’ family. We will remember him as a man full of passion, energy, and a love for cooking.”
The creators of “MasterChef” issued their own tribute, echoing that Komenda was “part of the ‘MasterChef’ family” and would be remembered for his “passion, energy, and a love for cooking.”
“It’s difficult to find words to express our grief,” their statement continued. “We share in his grief with his family, loved ones and everyone who had the opportunity to know him. Mariusz, we will miss you very much.”
Komenda revealed his diagnosis publicly in March on a fundraising page linked to his Instagram account. He explained that he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in early January after being hospitalized with what doctors initially believed was a stroke.
“I thought it was just a temporary crisis. Unfortunately, the reality turned out to be far grimmer,” he wrote in a statement translated from Polish. “From that moment on, the hardest fight of my life began.”
By late January, Komenda had been transferred to a hospital in Warsaw, where he underwent multiple procedures his team described as “urgent, life-saving” surgeries. These included an operation to remove the tumor from his right thalamus and another to remove a section of his skull to relieve pressure and, as he put it, “give me a chance to keep fighting.”
Further testing revealed additional cancerous lesions elsewhere in his body. Komenda noted at the time that he was “undergoing neurorehabilitation” in an effort to regain his “physical function.”
He launched the fundraising campaign because the costs of treatment and recovery were, he said, “enormous and, unfortunately, beyond my means.”
Despite his declining health, Komenda achieved a longtime goal just months before his death. He opened Father & Son, a restaurant in his hometown of Środa Śląska, in April 2025, running it alongside his son.
Komenda had reached the semifinals of “MasterChef Poland” in 2019 during the show’s eighth season, earning national recognition for his cooking.
His hometown newspaper, roland-gazeta.pl, based in Środa Śląska, was first to break the news of his passing on Wednesday.
The dual tributes from TVN and the “MasterChef” production team marked the end of a journey Komenda had shared openly with followers, from his sudden January hospitalization through his final months running the restaurant he had dreamed of opening.
