{
  "id": 18445914,
  "title": "'An insult to his culture': Italian chef fired after refusing to put pineapple on pizza, loses case in Australia",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/an-insult-to-his-culture-italian-chef-fired-after-refusing-to-put",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-06T05:11:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/dining/italian-chef-fired-pineapple-pizza-australia-david-tamburella-6530021"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Italian chef Davide Tamburella was fired from a Brisbane restaurant for refusing to put pineapple on pizzas, sparking a case with Australia's Fair Work Commission. The dispute arose when Tamburella, an Italian chef, viewed the topping as an insult to his culture. The restaurant, La Costa, located in Queensland, a major pineapple-producing state, had previously attracted attention due to its location. However, Tamburella's dismissal was not solely based on his cultural objection to pineapple on pizza. The commission also noted that he had previously objected to similar instructions three times over four years and had raised concerns about his language and behavior at work. Tamburella's dismissal was ruled invalid due to him filing his complaint after the statutory 21-day deadline, and not showcasing exceptional circumstances. The dismissal also affected his permanent residency application, forcing him to restart the process. After losing his job, Tamburella found employment as a head chef at another Italian restaurant in Brisbane. Despite the controversy, no pineapple is found on his new restaurant's pizza menu.",
  "summary": "Davide Tamburella, an Italian chef at the now-closed La Costa Restaurant and Bar in Brisbane, failed to regain his job after submitting an unfair dismissal application late, according to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Tamburella was dismissed in May following a meeting regarding several management complaints. One issue involved his refusal to prepare ham and pineapple pizzas for guests at a private function.\n\nEuro Weekly News reports that Tamburella considered the topping an insult to his Italian culture and stated that management's instructions did not need to be followed if they were offensive to his culture. He had previously asked his boss to investigate the importance of avoiding pineapple on pizza. According to Channel News Asia and KahawaTungu, the Fair Work Commission noted that this was the third time in four years that Tamburella had refused to top pizzas with the fruit.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}