Italian chef Davide Tamburella loses unfair dismissal claim over pineapple pizza refusal
Davide Tamburella, an Italian chef sacked from a Brisbane restaurant after refusing to put pineapple on pizza, has lost his unfair dismissal claim on a technicality.
How it was covered
- BBC News was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on the dismissal claim and a light debate on pineapple as a pizza topping.
- Channel 5, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
BBC News reported that an Italian chef who refused to put pineapple on a pizza had lost an unfair dismissal claim on a technicality. The channel said the chef, Davide Tamburella, was sacked from a restaurant in Brisbane, Australia, and that his refusal was among a string of complaints about his behaviour. According to BBC News, Tamburella had previously asked his boss to check how important it was for Italians not to put pineapple on pizza, and he claimed pineapple would be an insult to his culture.
BBC News also interviewed Michele Pascarella, a pizzaiolo from Naples and founder of Napoli on the Road in London, which the channel said had recently won the best pizza in the world award. Pascarella said pineapple does not belong on a classic pizza. He told the channel that it could have a place in a sweet dish or in a carefully balanced menu, but that opening a tin of pineapple and putting it straight on a pizza was 'a big no'.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| An Italian chef was dismissed from a Brisbane restaurant after refusing to put pineapple on a pizza. | |
| The chef had asked his employer to consider how important it is to Italians not to put pineapple on pizza. | |
| The chef's unfair dismissal claim was rejected on a technicality. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News treated the case as a light, conversational story about cultural identity and pizza, using it to debate pineapple as a topping with a Naples-born pizzaiolo. It reported the dismissal claim and the technicality briefly, then gave most of the segment to Michele Pascarella's views on pizza balance and tourist-driven pineapple use. The tone was playful, with the host asking not to upset Italian viewers.
- “Should you have pineapple on a pizza?”
- “I think on a classic pizza, pineapple doesn't belong to pizza, to be really, really honest.”
- “He's since lost an unfair dismissal claim on a technicality.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 18:51 GMT
Michele Pascarella, founder of Napoli on the Road pizzeria in London
The World Today with Maryam · Thu 5 Nov
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.