Bangladesh, Nov. 7 -- An Italian chef in Brisbane, Australia, has lost his job after refusing to put pineapple on a pizza, saying doing so would insult his culture.

Davide Tamburella was dismissed in May from the now-closed La Costa restaurant, two weeks after a meeting with management over a series of complaints about his conduct.

One of the complaints was his refusal to prepare ham and pineapple pizzas for guests at a function. He had reportedly said management directions did not need to be followed if they were offensive to his culture.

The details emerged after Tamburella took the matter to Australia's Fair Work Commission, claiming he had been unfairly dismissed.

In its ruling released on November 3, the commission noted that th...