A Brisbane restaurant owner who fired an Italian chef after he refused to put pineapple on pizza has doubled down on his decision, saying "we're not in Italy".
Davide Tamburella lost an unfair dismissal claim at Australia's Fair Work Commission after being fired from the now-closed La Costa restaurant in May of this year.
One factor in his dismissal was his refusal to serve ham and pineapple pizzas for guests at an event.
The chef told his employer, Elliot Ingram, that putting pineapple on pizza was an "insult to his culture".
Tamburella said the direction to make the pizza didn't need to be followed when it was offensive to his culture, and told Ingram to research the importance, for Italians, of not putting the fruit on the dish.
Reports said Ingram had acknowledged that pineapple was not a classic topping but that the customer needed to be considered.
"With Italians, they're very traditional when it comes to their food, especially pizza. But at the end of the day, we're not in Italy," he told The Age.
"We're in Australia and we have to go with what the customers' reasonable requests are."
During the unfair dismissal claim, Tamburella admitted it was the third time in four years he had refused the request.
Other reasons for his sacking included the use of foul language, his communication style, and prior examples of "escalation of frustration in the workplace".
The Commission's report also said the chef suffered multiple fractures in his hand when he struck a metal handrail.
Ingram previously told the Daily Mail the case wasn't just about a pizza topping.
"As recorded in the Fair Work Commission’s published decision, refusing to follow a management direction relating to a customer request was one of several matters raised during the disciplinary process," he said.
"The decision records the concerns we raised about inappropriate language, escalation during service and interactions with staff."
The unfair dismissal challenge was unsuccessful, with the Commission finding the application had been lodged outside the statutory deadline.
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