An Italian chef who was sacked from a restaurant in Australia allegedly for refusing to put pineapple on pizzas because he considered it an insult to his culture has lost his bid to challenge his dismissal.
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it → sack → dismissal
Davide Tamburella was sacked from the La Costa restaurant in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley on 20 May, a fortnight after a meeting with the management to discuss concerns about his performance.
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Tamburella → sack → performance
One of the issues raised was his refusal to prepare ham and pineapple pizzas for guests attending a function.
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One → raise → function
Mr Tamburella said instructions from his employers “need not be followed when it is offensive to his culture”.
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it → say → culture
According to a ruling by Australia's Fair Work Commission, released on Tuesday, Mr Tamburella acknowledged that this was the third time in four years he had refused to follow an instruction to put pineapple on pizza.
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he → accord → pizza
He had instead asked his employer, Elliot Ingram, to “check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza”.
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Italians → ask → pizza
The dispute came to light after Mr Tamburella lodged an application with the commission alleging that his dismissal breached Australia's Fair Work Act.
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dismissal → come → Act
The commission heard that the disagreement over pineapple came to a head when a customer organising a large function, with a bill exceeding A$15,000 (£7,800), requested ham and pineapple pizzas.
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customer → hear → pizzas
“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,’” Mr Ingram said.
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Ingram → have → pizza
Although Mr Ingram said pineapple was not his preferred pizza topping, he argued that accommodating customers was part of running a restaurant.
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accommodating → say → restaurant
“Do I go and buy a ham and pineapple pizza?
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I → go → pizza
It’s probably not my absolute favourite,” he said, The Guardian reported.
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Guardian → ’ → ?
“But I’m not going to turn my nose up at it, that’s for sure.
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that → go → it
And, look, we have had ham and pineapple pizza on the kid’s menu previously.”
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we → look → menu
Mr Ingram, who told the commission he had spent 17 years in hospitality and more than a decade running restaurants, said the experience had taught him to “pick your battles”.
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experience → tell → battles
However, refusing the instruction was not the only concern raised about Mr Tamburella's conduct.
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refusing → refuse → conduct
Management also cited his alleged use of inappropriate language, communication style, and escalation of frustration during service.
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Management → cite → service
The ruling also detailed an incident on 24 April in which Mr Tamburella fractured bones in his right hand after striking a metal handrail at work.
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Tamburella → detail → work
Mr Tamburella alleged that his dismissal was partly motivated by the workplace injury and claimed that the termination contravened the Fair Work Act.
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termination → allege → Act
However, commissioner Jennifer Hunt dismissed his application because it had been filed outside the prescribed time limit and did not qualify for an exception on the grounds of exceptional circumstances.
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it → dismiss → circumstances
The commission's decision did not establish whether the allegations surrounding the reasons for his dismissal were justified.
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allegations → establish → dismissal
The dismissal also disrupted Mr Tamburella's plans to secure permanent residency in Australia.
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dismissal → disrupt → Australia
He had been more than three years into the employer-sponsored subclass 186 visa process, which provides a pathway to permanent residency for eligible skilled workers.
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which → sponsor → workers
Mr Ingram told the commission that he had waited as long as legally possible before notifying the authorities that he was no longer employing Mr Tamburella, hoping the chef's visa application would be approved before he was required to withdraw his sponsorship.
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he → tell → sponsorship
The application was not approved within that period, meaning Mr Tamburella would have to restart the process.
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Tamburella → approve → process
The restaurant's managing director, Mr Ingram, told the Daily Mail that there was “more to this story than a pizza topping”.
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director → tell → topping
The Independent has approached Mr Tamburella for comment.
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Independent → approach → comment
La Costa subsequently closed in July after its lease expired.
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lease → close → July
Mr Ingram attributed the closure to the high cost of operating in Fortitude Valley.
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Ingram → attribute → Valley
Queensland, where the restaurant was based, is one of Australia's principal pineapple-growing regions.
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restaurant → base → regions
The state government lists the Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay, Yeppoon, coastal North Queensland and the Atherton Tablelands among the areas where the fruit is cultivated.
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fruit → list → areas
The heritage-listed structure has become a tourist attraction.
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structure → list → ?
The Aporia
