Italian chef sacked for refusing to put pineapple on pizza

An Italian chef sacked from a Queensland restaurant for refusing to put pineapple on top of pizza claimed it was an “insult to his culture”.

Davide Tamburella insisted adding the fruit, a favourite Queensland food, was a slur to his national heritage when he was asked repeatedly to do it by his employer.

The Fair Work Commission heard this week how in May the chef was dismissed from the now-closed La Costa restaurant in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

His sacking came two weeks after a meeting with managers who had a long list of complaints about Tamburella’s conduct.

They included his refusal to provide ham and pineapple pizza for guests at a function.

Tamburella stated at the time any direction from management “need not be followed when it is offensive to his culture”.

The commission’s ruling, released on Tuesday, noted his refusal to add pineapple on the pizzas was because “he considers, as an Italian, that putting pineapple on a pizza is an insult to his culture”.

The chef previously asked his employer to “check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza”.

Management also raised concerns about Tamburella’s foul language, his communication style and “escalation of frustration in the workplace”.

This included an incident where he fractured his hand, striking a metal rail.

The commission rejected Tamburella’s unfair dismissal claim citing the application had been filed too late.