Italian chef loses unfair dismissal claim over refusal to put pineapple on pizza
- An Australian tribunal has rejected an unfair dismissal claim from an Italian chef sacked in Brisbane.
- Davide Tamburella refused to put pineapple on pizzas, saying the topping insults Italian food culture.
- The Fair Work Commission said his claim was filed too late to be heard.
A Brisbane restaurant dismissed an Italian chef in May after he repeatedly declined to put pineapple on pizzas, and Australia's Fair Work Commission has now thrown out his unfair dismissal claim because he filed it too late.
Davide Tamburella worked at La Costa, which has since closed. The commission's ruling, released on Tuesday, said he had refused to use the fruit on three occasions in four years.
One of those refusals came when guests at a function asked for ham and pineapple pizzas. Tamburella told his employer on an earlier occasion to "check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza", according to the ruling.
The tribunal recorded his position that a manager's instruction need not be obeyed when it offends his culture. As an Italian, the ruling said, he saw pineapple on pizza as an insult to that culture.
More than a topping dispute
The pizza was only part of the case. Management also complained about his language, the way he communicated and what the ruling described as growing frustration at work.
The commission heard that in April he broke bones in his right hand after hitting a metal handrail.
Tamburella had hoped the restaurant would sponsor him for a visa to stay in Australia. That sponsorship process stopped after he lost the job.
Elliot Ingram, the restaurant's managing director, told the Daily Mail there was "more to this story than a pizza topping". The BBC said it had asked Tamburella for comment.
His LinkedIn profile says he focuses on delivering good food and improving how a business performs. Three months ago he shared a post called "letter for chefs" about respecting ingredients. The profile shows he now works at another Brisbane restaurant, and a BBC check found pineapple is not on that menu.
The dispute played out in Queensland, the state that grows all of Australia's commercially produced pineapples. It is also home to the Big Pineapple, a 16-metre fibreglass landmark on the Sunshine Coast.
What happens next
The commission's decision closes his unfair dismissal case, and the visa sponsorship that depended on the job has already been withdrawn. Tamburella is working at another Brisbane restaurant.
