Based in Naarm / Melbourne, Urbanstead aims to connect urban dwellers with ethical and delicious food.

Urbanstead is the combined work of us: Pippa and Michael James. We love to explore the joy and connection food offers through our cookbooks and classes. We are passionate about regenerative living and dedicated to building abundant and resilient local food systems.

Our classes offer a break from the pace of modern urban life, to exchange knowledge and build skills. Mostly focused on different types of baking, they’re hands-on, informative and fun. A small step towards a more resilient food future, you’ll go home with a big smile and new techniques.

In our books you will find generously detailed recipes and stories. They are filled with tips for better results and our hope is that they will become trusted aides as you build confidence in the kitchen. We celebrate the producers we’ve come to know and love so you can get to know them too, and offer a gentle nudge to get you thinking differently about how food ends up on your table.

The name Urbanstead references a traditional homestead lifestyle, in a wildly different context. Homesteading is characterised by self-sufficiency and requires the homesteader to live at nature’s pace, mindful in the use of all resources. Very different from so much of city life. We can’t all grow all our veggies or milk our own cow, but together we can slow down, connect and rejoice in the abundance of the natural world through food. We like to call this community-sufficiency.

In a world where so many people subsist on highly processed food and don’t know how to cook, there is hope to be found in the power of food to bring people together and make positive change. Through education and experience we explore the transformative potential of food, both for people and the planet.