A "passionate" chef threatened to kill a co-worker with a knife over the best way to make a pizza at a Darwin restaurant, a court has heard.

The Darwin Magistrates Court heard a fight broke out between Francesco Cristofaro, 21, and another employee of the Super Pizza restaurant in Fannie Bay last month.

At the height of the argument, the court heard a screaming Cristofaro chased the victim with a knife, yelling "tonight, I kill you".

Magistrate Greg Smith told Cristofaro that "passion is sometimes a good thing, but running around with a knife is misplaced passion".

Lawyer Peter Maley said his client is "a passionate cook that cares a great deal about the art of making pizzas".

"He has never been in trouble with the law here or in Europe," he said.

He said Cristofaro was living in Australia on a working holiday visa from Italy, with his girlfriend also working at the restaurant.

Francesco Cristoforo (centre) outside a Darwin court after being convicted of threatening to kill another chef over a dispute about how to best make a pizza. ( ABC News: James Dunlevie )

Mr Maley told the court his client had been incarcerated in the Howard Springs Correctional Facility since late last month and had found the experience traumatic with his limited knowledge of English.

Magistrate Smith said Cristofaro "might be a good cook, but the use of a knife by a cook is not always good".

"Hopefully this sentence teaches you a lesson," Magistrate Smith told Cristofaro.

Cristofaro was sentenced to four months' jail, suspended for 12 months.

The restaurant made headlines in 2012 when it was reported customers alleged staff had carried on serving meals after a chef collapsed and died in the kitchen.

A nurse who was at the restaurant with her partner told News Corp she had tried to revive the 43-year-old man until she was joined by paramedics at the restaurant, which is in Darwin's northern suburbs.

The nurse, who did not want to be named, alleged staff had stepped over her and ambulance officers "to get to the kitchen".

"They continued to serve food and were stepping over the body," she said.

But the restaurant owner said the only meals that went out of the kitchen during the incident were those which had already been ordered.