An Italian chef in Australia has been sacked from a Brisbane restaurant after repeatedly refusing to put pineapple on pizza, describing the fruit topping as an insult to his culture.

As reported by the BBC on Thursday, Davide Tamburella was dismissed from the now-closed La Costa restaurant in May, following a meeting with management over several complaints about his workplace behaviour.

One of the issues involved his refusal to prepare ham and pineapple pizzas for guests attending a function at the restaurant.

According to details presented before Australia’s Fair Work Commission, Tamburella maintained that instructions from management did not have to be followed if they were offensive to his culture.

In its ruling, released on Tuesday, the commission noted that Tamburella refused to use pineapple because “he considers, as an Italian, that putting pineapple on a pizza is an insult to his culture”.

The tribunal also established that it was the third time the chef had refused to use the fruit on pizzas within four years.

On a previous occasion, Tamburella had asked his employer to “check how important it is for Italians not to put pineapple on a pizza”.

However, the dispute extended beyond the controversial pizza topping, with management also raising concerns about his use of foul language, communication style and what was described as an “escalation of frustration in the workplace”.

The ruling further detailed an incident in April in which Tamburella fractured bones in his right hand after striking a metal handrail.

The chef had reportedly hoped that the restaurant would sponsor his visa to enable him to remain in Australia as a skilled worker. However, following his dismissal, the restaurant discontinued the sponsorship process.

Tamburella subsequently lodged an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission but lost after the tribunal determined that his application had been filed outside the permitted timeframe.

The restaurant’s managing director, Elliot Ingram, told the Daily Mail that there was “more to this story than a pizza topping”.

The BBC also approached Tamburella for comment.

Meanwhile, his LinkedIn profile describes him as a chef focused on delivering exceptional food and improving business performance. He also shared a post three months ago titled “letter for chefs”, centred on the theme of “respecting the ingredients”.

Tamburella’s profile indicates that he now works at another restaurant in Brisbane, where pineapple does not appear on the menu.

Queensland, where the dispute occurred, is widely regarded as Australia’s pineapple heartland and produces all of the country’s commercially grown pineapples. The state is also home to the famous Big Pineapple, a 16-metre fibreglass landmark on the Sunshine Coast.