A 26-year-old Nigerian Chef, Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, has officially broken the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a fresh record time of 93 hours 11 minutes.
Following a thorough review of all evidences, Guinness World Records made the confirmation on its website Monday, while breaking the previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes was set by Lata Tondon (India) in 2019.
Hilda Baci began on Thursday 11 May and continued through to Monday 15 May 2023, cooking over 100 pots of food during her four-day kitchen stint.
The Nigerian Chef attempted to set a record of 100 hours, however, almost seven hours were deducted from her final total because she mistakenly took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early on in the attempt.
Hilda who prepared for the event by creating a 35-item menu “as a guide” for every meal that she would cook, ensured that she had the necessary ingredients to make each recipe, with her team procuring further food items while the cook-a-thon was underway “based on what was needed to be topped up.”
According to Guinness World Record, Hilda Baci’s cook-a-thon was in fact so popular that our website crashed for two days due to the immense volume of traffic we received from her legion of loyal fans.
Several high-profile Nigerian figures visited Hilda to support her during her record attempt, such as the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu; and award-winning singer Tiwa Savage.
After graduating from Madonna University, Nigeria, with a degree in sociology, Hilda decided to embark on her culinary career. She was inspired by her mother, Lynda Ndukwe, who is also a chef.
Hilda went from success to success, hosting television show Dine on a Budget in 2020, before winning the Jollof Face-off competition in 2021. Representing her native Nigeria, Hilda beat Ghana’s Leslie Kumordzie to claim the victory.
