‘An insult to his culture’: Italian chef fired by Australian restaurant for refusing to put pineapple on pizza

An italian chef who refused to put pineapple on pizza has lost his unfair dismissal claim, with Australia’s Fair Work Commission rejecting his application because it was lodged too late, according to a BBC report.

Chef Davide Tamburella was dismissed in May from La Costa, a restaurant that has since closed. The commission’s ruling, released on Tuesday, said his dismissal followed a meeting about management’s concerns over his conduct, held about two weeks earlier.

One complaint concerned a function where ham and pineapple pizza was requested. According to the ruling, Tamburella declined to make it because, as an Italian, he considered the topping “an insult to his culture”.

The commission noted this was not the first time. He had refused to use pineapple on pizzas three times in four years and had previously asked his employer to look into how important the issue was to Italians.

He also told management at the time that their directions “need not be followed when it is offensive to his culture”, the ruling said.

Restaurant managing director Elliot Ingram told the Daily Mail the dispute was about more than food, saying there was “more to this story than a pizza topping”.

He said the commission’s published decision listed the refusal as one of several issues examined during the disciplinary process.

The other concerns included swearing, Tamburella’s communication style and what the ruling described as an “escalation of frustration in the workplace”.

The decision also detailed an incident in April in which Tamburella broke bones in his right hand after hitting a metal railing at work.

Tamburella had hoped the restaurant would sponsor a visa that would allow him to pursue permanent residency in Australia.

The commission heard the restaurant ended the sponsorship process after his dismissal.

The topping has a long history. Greek-born Canadian chef Sam Panopoulos is credited with creating the Hawaiian pizza in Ontario in 1962, naming it after the brand of canned pineapple he used.

Queensland, where La Costa operated, has its own pineapple identity, with the Big Pineapple, a 16-metre fibreglass attraction, drawing visitors on the Sunshine Coast.