Australian Restaurant Fires Italian Chef For Refusing To Put Pineapple On Pizza: 'Insult To My Culture'

An Australian restaurant sacked an Italian chef after he refused to put pineapple on a pizza, saying it was an 'insult to his culture'. The chef, identified as Davide Tamburella, had been working at La Costa, billed as an authentic Italian restaurant in the urban heart of Queensland, the country's sunshine state, when he was fired in May.

Tamburella was fired roughly a fortnight after a meeting with the management, who had a number of complaints about his behaviour, including his refusal to serve ham and pineapple pizza for guests at a function, according to a report in The Guardian. At the time, Tamburella claimed that he did not need to follow any direction from the management when it was "offensive to his culture".

The case came to light after Tamburella took the case to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), claiming he had been unfairly dismissed. In the ruling released on Tuesday (Nov 3), the commission noted that Tamburella's refusal to put the pineapple on pizza was because he considers it as an "insult to his culturr," as an Italian.

La Costa boss, Elliot Ingram, highlighted that one of the patrons was spending $15,000 and requested pineapple on pizza, which Tamburella refused.

“We had a large function come in, and they were spending in excess of $15,000, and the guy paying for the whole thing says: ‘Look, I need to get some ham and pineapple pizza,'” Ingram said, detailing that it was the third time he had refused.

Ingram said pineapple on pizza was not his first choice either but having worked 17 years in the hospitality sector and a decade running restuarnats, he had learned to "pick" his battles.

“Do I go and buy a ham and pineapple pizza? It's probably not my absolute favourite,” he said. “But I'm not going to turn my nose up at it, that's for sure. And, look, we have had ham and pineapple pizza on the kid's menu previously.”

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Claim Rejected

During the hearing, Tamburella alleged that he was sacked in contravention of the Fair Work Act, with his dismissal partly motivated by him suffering a workplace injury after he struck a metal handrail, fracturing his right hand in two places.

FWC Commissioner Jennifer Hunt, however, rejected his unfair dismissal claim on the grounds that the application had been filed too late and did not meet the criteria for exceptional circumstances.

Ironically, Tamburella was working in Queensland, which is considered Australia's pineapple heartland and produces all of the country's commercially grown pineapples. While La Costa closed in July, Tamburella is now employed at another Italian restaurant which does not have pineaaple on its menu.