DOUGH OR DIE

Italian Chef Fired in Pizza Feud Says He’s Now a National Hero

The pizza maestro said adding fruit to his dough was “offensive” in his culture.

#3

An Italian chef who was fired for refusing to put pineapple on pizza says he is now being hailed as a hero in his home country. Davide Tamburella was let go from the now-closed La Costa restaurant in Brisbane, Australia, in May after being called into a meeting to discuss “performance concerns,” which included not adding the fruit to pizzas at a function because it was “offensive” to his culture. Speaking to The Courier-Mail, Tamburella said he doesn’t have a major issue with pineapple as a pizza topping, but that he was asked to put it on his own dough, with the recipe handed down from his late grandmother. “I’m nobody to tell you, especially if you’re the owner, not to do it. But not on my dough,” he said. Tamburella added that he has received a wave of support from fellow Italians after his story went viral worldwide. “In Italy, I’m definitely a hero … mostly because I stood my ground.” Tamburella argued that he had been unfairly dismissed, but Australia’s Fair Work Commission rejected his claim because he had filed it too late.