# Pineapple on pizza: in a restaurant, who is right, the chef or the customer?

An Italian cook was fired in Australia for refusing to make a pizza with pineapple. For columnist Marcos Nogueira, whoever pays has the right to ruin the food they bought.

- Section: Gourmet
- Published: November 13, 2026
- Address: https://ceoone.com.br/en/article/pineapple-on-pizza-in-a-restaurant-who-is-right-the-chef-or-the-customer
- Em português: https://ceoone.com.br/artigo/pizza-com-abacaxi-no-restaurante-quem-tem-razao-o-chef-ou-o-cliente.md

![Pizza with ham and pineapple chunks, cut into slices, on a metal pan](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/pizza-com-abacaxi-no-restaurante-quem-tem-razao-o-chef-ou-o-cliente-foto.webp)

Photo: Elsie Hui/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

## Key points

- An Italian chef was fired in Australia for refusing to make a pizza with pineapple.
- For columnist Marcos Nogueira, whoever pays has the right to ruin the food they bought.
- He offers a recipe for a pork al pastor sandwich with grilled pineapple.

The meme came to life. Italians' hatred of pineapple on pizza, the source of millions of clicks and laughs on social media, claimed a casualty in the real world: Italian chef Davide Tamburella was fired in Australia for refusing to make the pizza. He said pineapple on pizza is "an insult to his culture".

The refusal can also be read as an affront to the customs of the region that took the chef in. Pineapple plantations are a source of pride in Queensland, and not far from Brisbane stands a 16-metre monument in the shape of the fruit, called the Big Pineapple. In Brazil, columnist Marcos Nogueira compares, Tamburella would be the rude cook who refuses to bake a strawberry pizza in Atibaia, the country's strawberry capital.

## The ego and the order ticket

The episode goes beyond the picturesque: does the chef have the right to tell the customer what to eat? Clueless diners do exist, Nogueira admits. A chef once showed him an order for a well-done steak tartare. Changes to orders can disrupt the kitchen's flow, stock control or the pricing.

But each case is different, and in most of them, for the columnist, the chef's intransigence is just the surfacing of an inflated ego. Some restaurants will not serve a well-done steak, and others throw a tantrum when a customer asks for cheese on seafood pasta. "In my humble opinion, the paying customer has the right to ruin the food they bought," he writes. At most, the chef should go to the table to make clear that he is no longer responsible for the mess he is about to deliver.

![Tacos al pastor with coriander on a plate, beside a lime and a soft drink can](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/pizza-com-abacaxi-no-restaurante-quem-tem-razao-o-chef-ou-o-cliente-tacos.webp)

Tacos al pastor in Mexico City: pork and pineapple, a proven pair. Photo: ProtoplasmaKid/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

## Pork and pineapple, no fight

As for pineapple pizza, it usually comes with ham. And pineapple with pork is a well-established pairing from Copacabana to Bangkok, one that can make a good pizza, Italian tantrums notwithstanding. To avoid pushing his luck with the ragazzi, Nogueira offers a half-Mexican recipe: the torta de cerdo al pastor, a sandwich version of tacos al pastor.

For four sandwiches, blend 100 ml of orange juice with two garlic cloves, two tablespoons of annatto powder, one tablespoon of chipotle hot sauce, two teaspoons of salt and one of cumin. Marinate 600 g of thinly sliced pork in this liquid for at least six hours. Mix half a chopped onion with two tablespoons of chopped coriander and set aside. In a very hot pan, grill four slices of pineapple and set aside; drain the meat and grill to taste. Fill four rolls with the meat, the pineapple and the onion and coriander mix, and eat with lime and more chilli. Preparation takes 15 minutes, plus the marinade.

## Sources and editorial notes

- Based on Folha de S.Paulo, November 13, 2026 edition, Comida section, page C12: Cozinha Bruta column by Marcos Nogueira.

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