Italian chef fired from Brisbane restaurant for refusing to serve pineapple on pizza

An Italian chef was sacked from the now-closed La Costa restaurant in Brisbane in May after refusing to include pineapple on a pizza. Davide Tamburella was dismissed a fortnight after a management meeting regarding a series of complaints about his behavior, which included his refusal to provide ham and pineapple pizza for guests at a function.

At the time of the dispute, Tamburella stated that any direction from management "need not be followed when it is offensive to his culture." In a ruling released on Tuesday, Australia's Fair Work Commission noted that Tamburella refused to use the fruit because "he considers, as an Italian, that putting pineapple on a pizza is an insult to his culture." The commission also noted this was the third time in four years that Tamburella had refused to use pineapple on pizzas. He had previously asked his boss to "check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza."

The restaurant was located in Queensland, which is considered Australia's pineapple heartland and produces all of the country's commercially-grown pineapples. The commission also detailed other concerns regarding Tamburella, including his use of foul language, his communication style, and an "escalation of frustration in the workplace." Additionally, the ruling detailed an incident in April of this year where Tamburella fractured bones in his right hand after striking a metal hand rail.

Tamburella had hoped the restaurant would sponsor a visa for him to become a permanent resident, but the tribunal heard the restaurant ended that process following his sacking. Tamburella lost his unfair dismissal claim because the application was filed too late.

Elliot Ingram, the restaurant's managing director, told the Daily Mail that there was "more to this story than a pizza topping."

On his LinkedIn profile, Tamburella describes himself as someone who has focused on "delivering exceptional food" and "improving business performance." Three months ago, he posted a "letter for chefs" regarding "respecting the ingredients." His profile states he currently works at another Brisbane restaurant, where a BBC check found that pineapple is not on the menu.