Brisbane chef reveals why he would rather be sacked than put pineapple on pizza

An Italian chef who was sacked from a restaurant after refusing to put pineapple on a pizza says he was not prepared to compromise his grandmother’s recipe, despite the decision costing him his job.

Davide Tamburella has found himself at the centre of a global pizza furore after being fired from La Costa Restaurant and Bar in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, earlier this year.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Italian chef fired over pineapple pizza refusal

The chef told 7NEWS he refused to add the controversial topping because he believed it would compromise the flavour of the traditional Italian dough he had learned to prepare from his grandmother.

“The flavour of the dough is really important and the flavour of the dough has to be respected,” he said.

“If you add the acidity and the sweetness of pineapple, you’re going to cover all that.”

Tamburella was dismissed on May 20 after refusing for the third time to add pineapple to a pizza, despite being directed to do so.

He said he had been employed to prepare authentic Italian food and considered the request an insult to his culture.

But the chef insists he has nothing against pineapple itself.

“I love pineapple in general. I love pineapple. I love eating pineapple,” he said.

The dispute has since attracted international attention, with British and Indian broadcasters reporting on the Brisbane chef’s refusal to serve the topping.

“I just want to work and maybe be famous for the things that I do and not for the things that I don’t do,” he said.

Asked about other controversial toppings, Tamburella was more accommodating when it came to eggs.

“You can put the egg on your pizza, raw and not raw,” he said.

Barbecue sauce, however, was firmly off the menu.

“No, barbecue sauce. It’s so sweet,” he said.

Even the well-loved Aussie chook failed to make the Italian chef’s cut.

“Chicken is not something that Italians would see in a restaurant in general,” he said.

Restaurant defends decision to sack chef

La Costa general manager Elliot Ingram previously defended the decision, saying the request was perfectly acceptable as pineapple on pizza was common in Australian Italian restaurants.

The dispute began when a customer celebrating their birthday asked for pineapple on a pizza.

“Look, I’m more of a pepperoni guy myself, to be honest,” Ingram told 7NEWS.

“(But) at the end of the day, we’re not in Italy, we’re in Australia, and we have to go with what the customer’s reasonable requests are.”

Ingram also said there was more to the dispute than the topping, raising concerns about Tamburella’s language, communication style and escalation of frustration in the workplace.

Tamburella subsequently lodged an unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission, but it was dismissed because it had been lodged outside the required time limit.

Despite losing his job, Tamburella says he would make the same decision again.

“I don’t have any regrets now, I will not have regrets later on,” he said.

The restaurant where Tamburella was previously employed has since closed its doors.