Mariusz Komenda, a Polish chef and restaurateur who reached the semifinals of “MasterChef” Poland, has died at 44, less than a year after a brain tumor diagnosis. Reports of his death came Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.
TVN, the Polish broadcaster that airs the cooking competition, confirmed his death in a statement translated from Polish. “Mariusz was part of the MasterChef family. We will remember him as a man full of passion, energy, and a love for cooking,” the broadcaster said. TVN said it was hard to find words equal to its sorrow, and that its thoughts were with his family, his loved ones and everyone who had the chance to know him.
Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.
His “MasterChef” Poland Run
Komenda competed on the eighth season of “MasterChef Poland” in 2019, the run that made his name familiar across the country. He finished in the final five and did not win the title. He flew to Mexico with the other semifinalists, fulfilling one of his culinary dreams. He returned to the program in later seasons as a guest and eventually as a juror.
Komenda opened two restaurants in his hometown, Środa Śląska, a Lower Silesian town in powiat średzki, where he lived and worked. He opened Sztuka Restaurant in 2020, turning his passion into daily work, and built his cooking around fresh products, a range of cuisines and plate presentation. “Cooking is an art,” he once said, in remarks translated from Polish.
He gave up running his own restaurant in 2023. In April 2025, he opened Father & Son, a Mexican restaurant, with his son, Mateusz Komenda, in the center of Środa Śląska — the restaurant he had imagined aloud years earlier. He also sat on the juries of local cooking competitions, cooked for residents and took part in charity initiatives.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Komenda was admitted to a hospital in January 2026 with a suspected stroke. Doctors found instead a tumor of the right thalamus with the radiological features of a malignant glioma. His condition deteriorated rapidly, and specialists opted for immediate intervention. He had two major head surgeries within a short span, followed by radiotherapy, further treatment and intensive rehabilitation.
He received care at the State Medical Institute in Warsaw and at a hospital in Legnica. Surgeons removed part of his skull bone in the second operation, to reduce the risk of further complications. Further tests after the brain operations found additional cancerous lesions elsewhere in his body. He underwent neurorehabilitation in the hope of regaining his physical abilities.
Komenda made the diagnosis public in a March 25 Instagram post. He wrote that he had at first assumed a temporary crisis and that the reality was far harder, and that the moment upended his life and the lives of those closest to him. He said he had been fighting every day since, for his health and a return to normal life.
Residents, friends, local groups and organizations in his town mobilized around him. They organized an online fundraiser and charity events to pay for further therapy. A fundraising appeal launched in March sought around £31,000 for medication, rehabilitation, scans and travel.
Tributes From Co-Stars
Grzegorz Zawierucha, a fellow 2019 “MasterChef Poland” contestant and the winner of that series, posted a tribute. “Maniuś… I can’t manage to write anything. Goodbye, brother. See you. Prepare the most delicious dinner today, my friend,” he wrote.
Mateusz Krojenka, a co-star, said he was “wrecked” by the news and praised Komenda’s “infectious smile.”
TVi Roland, a local news outlet, said Komenda had struggled with a serious illness over his final months and offered condolences to his family and friends.
Cooking Learned at Home
Komenda said his love of cooking came from his family home. His mother, Teresa, invited him to prepare dishes with her and asked him to judge how they tasted. He made his first dish on his own at age 10, a heart-shaped cake for Mother’s Day.
He talked early of wanting a restaurant of his own in Środa Śląska, and years before the show he talked of running it one day with his son beside him. Both ambitions came true.