Italian Chef Fired in Australia for Refusing to Put Pineapple on Pizza

The key facts

Chef Davide Tamburella called pineapple on pizza 'an insult to his culture' and refused to use it
The Fair Work Commission rejected the unfair dismissal claim — the application was filed too late
The La Costa restaurant closed in July, interrupting the process of sponsoring the chef's visa

The Conflict Over Pineapple

Italian chef Davide Tamburella was fired in May from the La Costa restaurant in Brisbane, Queensland, two weeks after a meeting with management, who had accumulated a number of complaints about his conduct. Among them was his refusal to make pizza with ham and pineapple for event guests: the chef said that management's instructions were 'not necessarily to be followed if they offend his culture.' According to BBC News, this was already his third refusal to use pineapple in four years; earlier he had asked his boss to 'check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on pizza.'

The Commission's Decision

The details came to light after Tamburella filed an unfair dismissal claim with Australia's Fair Work Commission. In its ruling, published on Tuesday, the commission noted that the chef refused to put pineapple on pizza because 'he believes, as an Italian, that pineapple on pizza is an insult to his culture.' However, the claim was rejected on a formal ground: the application was filed too late. According to The Guardian, as cited by Gazeta.Ru, the chef also linked his dismissal to a workplace injury — in April he broke his right hand in two places after striking it on a metal railing.

The Visa and the Restaurant's Closure

Tamburella had expected the restaurant to sponsor a visa that gives skilled workers the right to permanent residency, but after his dismissal that process was halted. La Costa managing director Elliot Ingram told Daily Mail that 'there is more to this story than just a pizza topping,' and gave details: guests at the event had spent more than 15 thousand dollars, and the organizer who paid for the order specifically wanted a ham and pineapple pizza. The restaurant closed in July when its lease expired — Ingram cited high business costs. According to the BBC, Tamburella now works at another Italian restaurant in Brisbane, which has no pineapple on its menu.

Queensland's Irony

A detail highlighted by the BBC: the conflict unfolded in the state considered Australia's 'pineapple capital' — Queensland produces the country's entire commercial pineapple crop, and the 16-meter Big Pineapple statue on the Sunshine Coast is a heritage-listed local landmark. On LinkedIn, Tamburella describes himself as a chef focused on 'exceptional food,' and three months ago he published a 'letter to chefs' about 'respect for ingredients.' The BBC contacted the chef for comment.