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An Italian chef in Australia lost his job and his path to permanent residency after refusing to put pineapple on a pizza, calling the request an insult to his culture, according to The Telegraph.
Davide Tamburella worked at La Costa, a Brisbane restaurant, when he declined a customer’s request for a pineapple pizza.
The restaurant’s general manager, Elliot Ingram, said the chef refused to make the dish three times.
The dispute escalated when a large event at the restaurant, with spending of about AU$15,000 ($20,000), included a request for pineapple pizza.
According to the findings of Australia’s Fair Work Commission, Tamburella responded by asking his boss to research "how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on pizza."
He was dismissed on May 20.
Tamburella took the case to the Fair Work Commission, claiming unfair dismissal. The commission rejected the claim because it was filed after the legal deadline.
The commission’s decision also noted other complaints about the chef’s conduct and language at work. The employer alleged that Tamburella increasingly expressed his frustration more harshly. The chef denied the claims.
The firing also ended Tamburella’s three-year effort to obtain permanent residency through employer sponsorship under the Subclass 186 visa. The restaurant halted the sponsorship process after dismissing him.
Tamburella later left the restaurant after it closed for economic reasons, the report said.
He has since taken a job at another Italian restaurant, which does not have pineapple on its menu.
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