We scooted around the city and followed Anthony Zhang for the day. This hunky Shanghai-native boasts kitchen whites, a passion for food, a six-pack and guns the size of your head. He’s already been snatched up, but you can still feast on his goods around the city.

08:45 Wake up naturally, right before my alarm. Before I brush my teeth, I check email. Then I get dressed and go out to my little garden to check on the zucchini, eggplant and herbs. My pumpkins are growing very well right now and will be very tasty this winter.

09:30 Arrive at Lapis Sky, one of my latest projects as a freelance restaurant consultant. After 15 years of sweating in the kitchen as a chef, I’m trying to do something different and develop my career. A freelance career is hard, but once you’re on the road, you will never go back to regular work. My philosophy in life is work hard, play harder. I’ve been working to launch Lapis Sky for three months and it’s nearly finished, but I still have some finishing touches to put on, like taking food shots for the media and talking to the chefs to make sure everything runs smoothly after I take off on my vacation.

11:00 I prepare to be interviewed by Ganlan Wine Press magazine. I demonstrate cooking three dishes for them to photograph, explain how to pick high quality beef and cook it at home and the best places in Shanghai to buy it. In my interview I describe my job. Anything having to do with food, I can do: food styling, brand promotion, helping people launch restaurants, updating menus, training chefs, helping manage a restaurant team, finding food and equipment suppliers and shooting cooking shows for TV.

13:00 Organize some paperwork and leave the restaurant with my partner Ignatius. We go just two blocks away to our other project at Lapis Lazuli, where we’re helping to improve their menus and develop some new dishes. Going to a new kitchen is a big challenge. The first step in my game plan is to make friends with the chefs. I walk in the kitchen and see it’s very old. I ask the chefs, “Do you need to change anything about the working environment to improve it?” They are so eager and say, “Yes! We need this, we need that!” We discuss concrete ways to improve their kitchen. This makes everyone happy and, after that, starting the job with them is easier.

17:30 After a few hours of working in the kitchen, I’m exhausted and thirsty but still have to go to another project, Xibo the Xinjiang restaurant. Fortunately, it’s very close by, on Changle Lu. I was hired to help them improve their plating and presentation. I hold a meeting to discuss what kind of style they like, and talk to the chef to learn about his menu. We make a work schedule for the future.

18:30 Oh, now I’m really tired! I rush home, jump on the bed, turn the TV to the documentary channel and try to take a nap. I’m so tired, I almost feel like I’m fainting.

19:00 Amazingly, after just half an hour, I feel totally recovered. I get up and quickly prepare my boxing and jiu-jitsu gear. I jump on my scooter, nicknamed Xiao Hei, the best transportation device in the world, and make a straight line for Red Town’s Club Hero, the top Muay Thai gym in Shanghai. I love this place and train here as much as possible, spending two to three hours each time studying mixed martial arts (MMA). Don’t get me wrong, I study boxing not because I like to fight, I just like to play and this is my favorite hobby. Maybe one day you will see me in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Ha!

21:00 Now is my favorite time of day. After an intense, crazy workout, I’m going to my favorite Dongbei restaurant, Four Seasons, to eat with my gym mates. I love the cold seaweed, guobao rou (wok-fried pork) and da jiang gu (bone marrow). Wow, so good.

22:30 Usually I meet my wife for dinner to try out new restaurants and today I’ve been so busy I haven’t seen her for the whole day. I meet her at Downstairs with David Laris, special for us because we originally met each other at Laris in Three on The Bund when I was a chef there, and so we always have a good time at his restaurants. We have some drinks and tasty appetizers and then ride home on Xiao Hei.

00:00 I’m really tired, so I have some hot tea and sit at my desk to relax. I check kaixinwang to see what my friends are doing and watch some new UFC shows. I talk to my wife about our upcoming trip to the US, the people we want to see and, of course, the restaurants and new markets we want to try.

02:00 My eyes are starting to close, time to go to bed! Tomorrow is another big day.

He's a busy guy. What did you think of Anthony's day?