Oh, René, you are terrible. Redzepi finds new 'ingredients' on the Australian leg of his global book tour

Watch René Redzepi at work in the Noma kitchen

As we count down to Friday's opening in Tokyo, we film the chef at one of his infamous Saturday Night Projects

Yesterday we brought you a sneak preview of the ingredients René Redzepi has been experimenting with in the lead up to the opening of Noma Japan at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Tokyo this Friday.

Today we’ve been cutting some videos we shot with René around the publication of his most recent book, A Work in Progress, and we’d like to share the first of these with you. It captures René in the kitchen at the tail end of one of Noma's infamous Saturday Night Projects where chefs riff on ideas and ingredients as they attempt to come up with what they hope will be the menu items that push Noma's reputation to even more dizzying heights.

In a way, it's a domestic version of what the chef has been doing over the last few months in Japan, as our story yesterday (left) revealed. It's this constant pushing of the boundary that's seen Noma voted Best Restaurant in the world a record-breaking four times.

That Redzepi has managed to do all this while hanging on to his ego is just one of the endearing things about this particular success story. As René says in our video. "I don't want the despot in my place. The Saturday Night Project was a reaction against that. It's a training camp for intuition and the sharpening of our sensibilities."

Watching the eager chefs trying to outdo each other with their innovative dishes, we're sure you'll agree it looks like a great place to both learn then reinvent the art of high end gastronomy. As René says to one chef who presents him with a kale dessert: "You're totally challenging everything that people know. That's really putting yourself out there. Chef, you've got guts. Super guts! Five years ago kale was horse food. Now it's in desserts, because of you. That's cool!"

Watch the video above and buy our René Redzepi Collection consisting of Noma, A Work in Progress and Coco at a special low price for a limited time only.

A Work in Progress : Rene Redzepi

A companion piece to Noma, A Work in Progress is a personal account of life at the now famous restaurant. Written by René Redzepi as a series of journal entries the text will be accompanied by approximately 75 brand new recipes worked on during the year. Illustrated with a combination of candid photography shot by René and his team (125 images), plus final dish shots (90), A Work in Progress promises to be a unique insight into the inner workings of the restaurant and its highly creative team of chefs. Specifications:

Format: Hardback
Size: 230 × 280 mm (9 × 11 in)
Pages: 648 pp
Illustrations: 330 illustrations
ISBN: 9780714866918

René Redzepi

"These three books perfectly capture Rene Redzepi's gastronomic vision: playful and fiercely imaginative, deeply rooted in season and place, and committed to pure, real ingredients."—Alice Waters

"Rene Redzepi is, without a doubt, the most influential, provocative, and important chef in the world... This book chronicles a year in the life of a chef, a creative process - and a restaurant considered by many to be the best."—Anthony Bourdain

"Redzepi has given us a book - or really, three books - that take us not only into the field... but also into the wildest place of all: his mind. A striking, thought-provoking, and imminently pleasurable read."—Daniel Barber

"F**k me, he's a good chef!"—Fergus Henderson

"This is a brilliant, honest, and ultimately exhilarating insight into one of the most important culinary minds in the world."—Daniel Patterson

"The perfect package... Gorgeous recipes, candid snapshots, and a year's worth of journal entries are what you get in Rene Redzepi's latest... But that's not our favorite thing about the Noma chef's three-volume set. The package design - three monochromatic and straight-up minimalist covers, all held together by a color-coordinated rubber band - makes this title (and all of its parts) a must for any collection."— Bon Appetit

"There's no doubting [Redzepi's] genius... A profound insight into how he conceives his dishes... The [recipe] selection here contains some of Noma’s key naturalistic techniques and will therefore be of interest to many chefs cooking at a high level... A rare glimpse into one of the world's most influential kitchens."—Restaurant

"...A raw, fascinating and innovative exploration of an elite chef's obsessive life. But more than that, it is a book about creativity."—The San Francisco Chronicle

" [A] must-have cookbook."—InStyle

"...[A Work in Progress] forms an intimate look at what Redzepi does, how he does it, and what it means to do it... What fun to delve into this landscape of Nordic ingredients and ideas. You just might find yourself dreaming about eating hay and ants for dinner and spruce parfait for dessert."—Food & Wine

"Unique and insightful, this is one collection true food lovers will delight in."—Publishers Weekly

"...The best portrait yet of the intellectual and emotional challenges of delivering one of the most creative menus in the business."—The Economist

"A food nerd's dream."—Wine Enthusiast

"[A Work in Progress] gets our pick for the best cookbook of the year because it's human, intimate and inspiring."—Tasting Table