Chef Fabio Viviani is a busy man.

“I work 130 hours a week. I’m up at 6am each day and I’m never in bed until midnight. I work sixty hours just in the mornings.”

With three restaurants, a new cookbook, and all the television and in-person appearances, one would be surprised if he didn’t work all those hours. Because for Fabio, being awake means working, and he’s loving every minute of it.

We were first introduced to Fabio through season 5 of Bravo TV’s Top Chef, where his charming accent and larger than life personality won him “Fan Favorite.” Since then he’s opened Siena Tavern in Chicago, developed an award-winning Yahoo TV show “Chow Ciao,” and wrote a cookbook that pre-sold 17 thousand copies in less than 10 minutes on QVC.

When Fabio is not busy doing festival demos and television appearances, he is busy creating recipes and connecting with fans through social media.

“I am the most active on the social media, which is good. We take a lot of pride in it. We like to connect to people. We like if somebody take a minute to ask you a question they deserve an answer.”

While he has a social media team helping him to broadcast the content, they don’t speak for him, “I don’t have a person answer for me, I don’t have a person who say ‘thank you’ for me. I don’t have anybody doing that. All they do is to get my content and make sure they get out there. And when you get an answer when you see stuff like that - that’s me.”

With a fully equipped, high-definition studio kitchen right in his home and a social media office in his company, Fabio is constantly creating content and posting recipes on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Plus he hosts weekly Q&A’s and occasional giveaways on Twitter. Fabio’s Kitchen Academy, his online magazine, reaches more than two and a half million subscribers.

And then he’s got the Top Chef Cruise, filming of a new season of Yahoo’s Chow Ciao, a cross-country book tour and more television shows in the works.

Oh, and did I mention that he’s also planning another restaurant in Chicago with eyes towards Miami and New York City?

Yeah, 130 hours seems like a conservative number now, doesn’t it?

Before taking off for the Top Chef Cruise and his book tour, Fabio took some time to chat with us about his upcoming cookbook and his favorite brunch spot in Vegas.

BlendAbout: Congratulations on the QVC book pre-sale. Everything sold out.

FV: We sold 17 thousand copies in like seven minutes. They ordered another 7 thousand. The book now is number 8 or 10 in US right now in the general books category. It’s doing outrageously well.

It’s a different book. It’s a memoir with recipes. It’s not a recipe collection which most cookbooks are. It’s just stories. My mom agreed to let me give away our family chest with all our recipes if I agree to let her give away all my stories of a trouble child. So it’s good for you guys to read it but not that good for me because people stop me and ask “did you really do that?” I’m like “yeah.”

BlendAbout: For chefs, brunch service is usually a tough one because it usually means coming in early on a weekend morning. Can you share with us some brunch service stories?

FV: You know, the way I got into this brunch was by mistake. We are in Vegas for the first time I first come to the U.S. I can barely speak any English. We get up at 10:30 after a really rough night, and we’re starving, right? So it’s a Sunday. There is one of the greatest brunch in Vegas at the Bellagio hotel. I don’t know brunch. I never heard of brunch. I know breakfast. Cause I was in Italy and just moved to U.S. I know Americans do breakfast and I know Americans do lunch, but it’s like 10am and I’m like it’s too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, I’m starving, what can we eat? And the guy was with me was like “let’s do brunch” I’m like “what the heck is brunch?” and he was like “It’s an early lunch or a late breakfast” I’m like, “You’re full of it, who does this?” I mean how many people could possibly get hangover, sleep to 10:30, get up, be hungry and there is somebody there and the market for it and this guy was like “Look, actually in U.S. on Sunday, families do late breakfast-early lunch and they call it brunch.” I’m like, “It’s amazing. It really is.” I mean how many people get hangover so that have to create a category of food time called brunch. I didn’t see it’s more like a get together kind of thing.

BlendAbout: Is there a favorite brunch menu item you can share with us?

FV: My favorite menu item is my bomboloni (Italian donuts.) Go on Yahoo’s Chow Ciao to see how to make them.

BlendAbout: One of the best things about brunch is the excuse to “day drink.” What are some of your favorite cocktails?

FV: I’m not a big drinker. I like vodka. So for me Bloody Mary is a good deal. If you go to (Bellagio) brunch they have a Bloody Mary bar. It’s a Bloody Mary self-service bar (with) bartender there, any kind of vegetable, and kind of puree tomato, bunch of vodka. That is the reason why I go to Vegas sometimes. So I can sleep in the night and I can get up and go for brunch at the Bellagio restaurant.

It’s out of control. I mean. You won’t believe the sh*t that going on in that brunch. They have everything. From prime roast to sushi station, whole salmon bake, live fish; it’s like out of control. Best brunch I’ve ever been to. It’s only Sunday. You won’t find it any other day.

BlendAbout: Anything else you would like everyone to know?

FV: I am the most fortunate person I ever know. I have so many gratitude I have to dump some out at night before I go to sleep otherwise I can’t. I’m very fortunate. I’m a lucky person. I’m in a business I like, I’m working hard we’re having a good success. I’m surrounded by good people. And what’s not to be happy about it.

Check out Fabio’s Weekly Magazine, ‘Fabio’s Kitchen Academy’ >>