Chef fired from restaurant after refusing to put pineapple on pizza
A chef was dismissed from his job in New Zealand after refusing to put pineapple slices on a pizza, claiming it was an ‘insult to his culture’, according to a newly released court ruling.
In May, Davide Tamburella, an Italian chef, was working at the now-closed La Costa restaurant in Queensland when he was asked to cater for a function.
“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,” explained his boss, Elliot Ingram.
The chef refused the request; the Australia's Fair Work Commission alleged he considered, as an Italian, that ‘putting pineapple on a pizza is an insult to his culture’.
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A court ruling released on Tuesday (3 November) noted that the incident was the third time that Tamburella had refused to use the fruit on pizzas in the past four years.
He previously asked his boss to ‘check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza’, as reported by the BBC.
Following the refusal, the culinary expert sat in on a meeting with restaurant management.
The meeting, designed to ‘address performance concerns’, saw management bringing up a string of complaints about the chef's behaviour.
Concerns raised included Tamburella allegedly using foul language and ‘escalation of frustration in the workplace’.
He was let go from his position two weeks later, the tribunal heard.
Prior to being axed, the ex head chef was hoping the company would sponsor his 186 visa which allows for skilled workers to become permanent New Zealand residents.
He was more than three years deep on the employer-sponsored pathway, but the firing caused the restaurant to end the process, the tribunal heard.
Despite filing an unfair dismisal claim with the Australia's Fair Work Commission, Tamburella was told by Jennifer Hunt, FWC commissioner, that he entered his application too late, the BBC wrote.
Elliot Ingram, managing director for the now-defunct business, told the Daily Mail that there was much ‘more to this story than a pizza topping’.
“Do I go and buy a ham and pineapple pizza? It’s probably not my absolute favourite,” he continued, as per The Guardian.
“But I’m not going to turn my nose up at it, that’s for sure. And, look, we have had ham and pineapple pizza on the kid’s menu previously.”
The Guardian reported that Tamburella now works at another Italian restaurant where pineapple does not appear on the menu.
Ella Scott
