Key Takeaways
- Italian chef Davide Tamburella refused to make ham and pineapple pizzas at Brisbane’s La Costa, calling the topping an “insult to his culture.”
- Australia’s Fair Work Commission dismissed his dismissal-related claim because he filed too late, without ruling on whether his cultural objection justified refusing the instruction.
- La Costa also cited foul language and workplace conduct in firing Tamburella, who has since found another restaurant job but must restart his employer-sponsored permanent residency process.
An Italian chef who drew a line at pineapple on pizza has lost his fight against a former employer.
According to the BBC and The Guardian, Davide Tamburella lost his unfair dismissal case after refusing to make ham and pineapple pizzas for a Brisbane function, but Australia's Fair Work Commission did not rule on whether his cultural objection justified disobeying the instruction.
Commissioner Jennifer Hunt dismissed Tamburella's general protections claim in a ruling released Tuesday (Nov. 3), finding that he filed his application too late and failed to demonstrate exceptional circumstances.
According to the ruling, Tamburella refused the request because "he considers, as an Italian, that putting pineapple on a pizza is an insult to his culture." The customer had requested the pizzas for a function costing more than A$15,000 (or about 10,419 in USD).
The tribunal record stated: “He stated that the direction need not be followed when it is offensive to his culture. He acknowledged that it is the third time in four years that he refused this direction and he requested the respondent check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza.”
La Costa managing director Elliot Ingram told The Guardian that the customer paying for the event specifically requested the combination: “We had a large function come in, and they were spending in excess of $15,000, and the guy paying for the whole thing says: 'Look, I need to get some ham and pineapple pizza.'”
Ingram admitted the topping combination was "probably not my absolute favourite" but said his 17 years in hospitality had taught him to "pick your battles." Ingram also told the Daily Mail, via BBC News, that there was "more to this story than a pizza topping."
The commission's ruling cited additional reasons for Tamburella's dismissal, including foul language, his communication style and "escalation of frustration in the workplace."
Tamburella argued that his dismissal breached the Fair Work Act and was partly related to a workplace injury. In April, he fractured his right hand in two places after striking a metal handrail. He subsequently met with Ingram over performance concerns and was dismissed on May 20, approximately two weeks later.
La Costa, located in Fortitude Valley, closed in July after its lease expired. Ingram attributed the closure to the area's high operating costs.
Tamburella has since found work at another Italian restaurant in Brisbane, where pineapple is absent from the menu, per the BBC.
However, the dismissal has also affected his immigration status. He was more than three years into an employer-sponsored subclass 186 permanent residency application and must now begin the process again, according to The Guardian. Ingram said he delayed notifying immigration authorities for as long as legally possible, hoping Tamburella's visa would be approved first.
The dispute unfolded in Queensland, which per the BBC produces all of Australia's commercially grown pineapples.
