An Italian chef working at a restaurant in Brisbane, Australia , was fired after repeatedly refusing to put pineapple on pizzas, saying the topping was an “insult to his culture”.
Among the concerns was Tamburella’s refusal to prepare ham and pineapple pizzas for guests attending a function. Notably, the state of Queensland is regarded as Australia’s pineapple heartland and produces all of the country’s commercially grown pineapples. However, the dispute over the pizza topping was not the only concern raised by the restaurant’s management. An incident in April this year was also mentioned, during which Tamburella fractured bones in his right hand after striking a metal handrail at work. The chef had reportedly hoped that La Costa would sponsor his visa, which would have allowed him to become a permanent resident in Australia. However, following his dismissal, the restaurant discontinued the sponsorship process.
It is also home to The Big Pineapple, a 16-metre-tall fibreglass landmark on the Sunshine Coast that attracts visitors. Because it had been filed outside the prescribed time limit, tamburella ultimately lost his unfair dismissal claim, with the commission rejecting his application.
Davide Tamburella was dismissed from the now-closed La Costa restaurant in May, about a fortnight after a meeting with the management over several complaints about his workplace behaviour, according to a report by the BBC. The chef reportedly told management that any direction from them “need not be followed when it is offensive to his culture”. The commission’s ruling also detailed complaints about Tamburella’s use of foul language, communication style and “escalation of frustration in the workplace”.
