About us

At PlantInspired, we believe in the power of plant-based cooking to transform lives. Our mission is to empower people and create a kinder, healthier, more sustainable future.

In partnership with the Planetary Health Initiative, in the heart of the Blue Mountains, we offer interactive plant-based cooking classes for individuals and groups. Join us and have fun learning how to use vegetables to create delicious meals that are good for you and the entire planet.

Community classes

On the first Friday of each month we hold community cooking classes at Junction 142 in Katoomba. The classes are offered free of charge for concession card holders. For other members of the community a donation of $10+ is requested to assist in offsetting the costs of the project.

The cost-of-living crisis has impacted everyone but certain populations remain particularly at risk. For many, lack of practice or confidence in their own cooking skills exacerbates the problem further, leaving them at the mercy of ready-made and restaurant meals, which are not only expensive but are often also unhealthy.

We also work with other community groups and organisations on an ad-hoc basis. For example, in May and June 2025 we volunteer in the Springwood Neighbourhood Centre’s 7-week cooking program. Check out some of our past events.

We fund the project with profits from our paid cooking classes and through donations. You can donate to the program directly: 

Tax-deductible donations are possible via the Planetary Health Initiative. Get in touch for details.

Paid classes

We offer paid classes for individual clients, private groups and businesses. Profits from these classes our utilised to fund our community classes. Every paid class we organise is essentially a fundraiser.

Choose from our range of preset classes or get in touch to tailor the event to your preferences

Our clients come from all walks of life, age and gender groups. Our warm and inclusive environment provides a safe space for everyone to explore the richness and versatility of the plant-based cuisine and develop useful techniques to prepare healthy, flavourful meals at home.

Are you a parent wanting to supply food that is beneficial to you, your child and the future of our planet? Get in touch.

Are you a business? Book us in for your next team building event.

Need to recharge batteries? Bring some friends along and treat yourselves to a unique plant-based cooking experience.

Heading to a wedding? Give the precious gift of a plant-based cooking class to the newlyweds.

Why plant-based

“Plant-based foods are the future,” wrote Jacob Jensen, the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, in his Preface to the Danish Action Plan for Plant-based Foods issued by Jensen’s Ministry in October 2023.

Denmark joins a growing number of countries around the world at the forefront of the plant-based revolution. Due to its good climatic, technical and social preconditions for agricultural production, Denmark sees its opportunity to become a leader in plant-based food production. The government is translating this idea into real-life praxis by offering grants to plant-based initiatives, helping farmers transition from animal agriculture to crop production, and similar strategies. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, being environmentally less suitable for traditional agricultural approaches, is investing into new technologies to achieve the same: health, sustainability and profitability.

There is a pressing need for the global adoption of the so-called planetary health diet, which would ensure nutritional food for a healthy human population and sustainable food production for a healthy planet.

This transformative diet is essentially a plant-based diet consisting predominantly of a rich variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes. Progressive governments around the world are teaming up with scientists, farmers, educators, chefs, entrepreneurs and others in a race against time to develop food systems that are adequate for their unique environmental conditions and able to guarantee food security and health on a long-term basis.

“If we shift away from eating meat and dairy and move towards a plant-based diet,” Sir David Attenborough reminds us, “we could still produce enough food to feed us, but using a quarter of the land. This could free up the land the size of the US, China, the European Union and Australia combined. Space that could then be given back to nature.”

The animals will be grateful too.

Cooking Classes Gift vouchers available!

Class option I: Plant-based cheese making class

Learn to make authentic artisan plant-based cheese using a few simple ingredients only. In this class we will make basic hard cheese, blue-vein cheese, peppercorn/ashed/herbed cheese and mozzarella.

Bookings available for private groups and individuals, minimum cost: $400. Weekdays and weekend.

Class option V: Gnocch-it-up

Learn to make authentic gnocchi. This class is fun in a messy kind of way and as such particularly suitable for groups of friends and/or as a team-building event.

Bookings available for private groups and individuals, minimum cost: $385. Weekdays and weekend.

Class option III: New year special: 2-class bundle

Cheers to a new chapter! Intensive course to learn some building blocks of plant-based cooking for a happy and healthy jump into the new year.

The classes (3 hours each) will introduce you to delicious yet simple ways of preparing a 3-course plant-based meal: entre, main and dessert. You will also learn core principles of plant-based soup making, plant-based cheese making and seitan (mock meat) preparation.

Bookings available for private groups and individuals, minimum cost: $850. Weekdays and weekend.

Note: Part of the menu from this course roughly overlaps with the menu in the Tastemaster class.

Class option IV: Cooking with seitan

Seitan is a very versatile gluten-based meat alternative. One of the challenges with cooking with seitan is the gluten subtaste that often lingers on. In this class you will learn to eliminate the gluten flavour and to prepare seitan in a number of ways to suit various culinary requirements.

Bookings available for private groups and individuals, minimum cost: $385. Weekdays and weekend.

Class option II: The Tastemaster

Learn to turn your average vegetable into a mouthwatering masterpiece. So many people would love to increase their vegetable intake but don't know how to make vegetables tasty. They've grown up with uninspiring vegetables, yet there are many easy and delicious ways of cooking and presenting them. In this class you will learn how to char-grill capsicum for that deli-style taste and texture, how to prepare asparagus, mushrooms and roast potatoes so they crisp up on the outside while remaining soft on the inside, how to bring the sweetness out of peas, what herbs and spices to use with eggplant, sweet potato and pumpkin for a perfect entre or side dish, and many other ‘tricks of the trade’.

Bookings available for private groups and individuals, minimum cost: $400. Weekdays and weekend.

Class option VI: Desserts

Learn to make quick, fuss-free desserts and sweet treats. In this class you'll learn to make three easy, delicious desserts suitable for every occasion.

Bookings available for private groups and individuals, minimum cost: $400. Weekdays and weekend.

Your cooking instructor

Dr Teya Brooks Pribac is a scholar, author and multidisciplinary artist based in the Blue Mountains. She holds a PhD in animal studies/ethics from the University of Sydney. Her recent publications include the award winning books Enter the Animal (academic) and Letters to My Sheep (memoir).

She turned vegan close to 20 years ago. At the time meat and cheese alternatives weren’t widely available, everything had to be made from scratch. A blessing in disguise, Teya began to experiment…and has never stopped. Her artisan vegan cheeses are highly acclaimed. Read what people are saying about Teya’s cooking.