A Brisbane restaurant owner has spoken out after his decision to sack an Italian chef for refusing to put pineapple on a pizza made headlines across the globe.
David Tamburella went to the Fair Work Commission following his dismissal from Fortitude Valley restaurant La Costa in May, claiming “as an Italian … putting pineapple on a pizza is an insult to [his] culture”.
The case has been covered around the world, in outlets including the BBC, The Sun , The Times of London and the New York Post .
The commission heard it was the third time in four years Tamburella had refused a request to put pineapple on a pizza.
Tamburella’s attempt to launch an unfair dismissal claim failed, as it was not submitted within 21 days of his May 20 dismissal. A month earlier, Tamburella was injured in the workplace when he struck a metal handrail, fracturing the fourth and fifth metacarpals of his right hand.
La Costa closed its doors in June, but former owner Elliot Ingram, who owns other restaurants in the Brisbane area, said there was “more to this story than just pizza toppings”.
“Who would have thought that pineapple on a pizza would cause such a debate across the world?” he said.
Ingram said a diner, who was celebrating their birthday at La Costa, had requested the ingredient change to which Tamburella took such umbrage.
“With Italians they’re very traditional when it comes to their food, especially pizza,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, we’re not in Italy. We’re in Australia and we have to go with what the customers’ reasonable requests are.”
On a personal level, Ingram said he did not mind a bit of pineapple of his pizzas.
“We’re in Queensland after all – we’ve got the best pineapples in the world,” he said. ”But I’m more of a pepperoni guy myself, to be honest.”
Ingram said “an overall contribution of multiple factors” had led to Tamburella’s termination, but the incident was a catalyst.
“One of the things that we’ve always tried to aim for is giving that customer a great experience, and that comes down to fulfilling a reasonable request,” he said.
Tamburella told the Fair Work Commission his application was late because he was under substantial stress visa status and livelihood, and was having difficulty with his focus, finding it difficult to read, retain and organise information.
“I decided to wait a little bit longer just to collect all the data that I needed because otherwise I would be presenting something that would be already late and plus not completed,” he told the commission.
But Commissioner Jennifer Hunt said there were no exceptional circumstances to allow a time extension, in effect dismissing the case.
“I do not consider the circumstances of this case to be out of the ordinary course, unusual, special or uncommon,” she said.
“Mr Tamburella’s frustration within the workplace and the way that he behaved on numerous occasions would lead me to conclude that his prospects of success are not great.”
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