Nigerian chef cooks for 100 hours straight to break world record
A 27-year-old Nigerian chef cooked for just over four days for 100 hours straight to break a world record. She worked on 55 different recipes preparing 100 meals
Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey cooked for 100 hours non-stop to set a new world record.
Our records team is looking forward to reviewing the evidence from Hilda's epic cooking marathon.https://t.co/fzRlNpqU8e
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) May 16, 2023
The goal of the chef, known on social media as Hilda Baci, was to break the existing Guinness World Record of Lata Tondon (India) with a time of 87 hours and 45 minutes.
Baci, 27, cooked for more than four days straight, from last Thursday until Monday of this week. The challenge took place in a kitchen located in a shopping mall in Lagos, Nigeria.
The chef worked on 55 different recipes, preparing 100 meals of different Nigerian dishes, such as soups, rice, akara and Jollof rice, one of West Africa’s most iconic dishes.
Baci was accompanied by thousands of people who gathered at the venue to support her and even sang along for a few minutes after she stopped singing. She responded by being animated, cooking, dancing and waving to the crowd.
According to the BBC, the Nigerian chef initially planned to cook for 96 hours, but people motivated her to reach 100 hours.
Guinness World Records said officials from its records team will review the evidence and hope to verify Hilda’s efforts as a new record soon.
A Guinness World Records spokesperson said, “We are aware of the record attempt and look forward to receiving the evidence for our records management team to review, before we can confirm that the record is official.”
The Nigerian’s challenge was an endurance task. To meet Guinness World Records requirements, she was only allowed a five-minute break every hour, or she could take a one-hour break after working non-stop for 12 hours for baths, medical checks and rest.
Once Baci broke the record, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated her via Twitter. “I share the immense joy of all Nigerians as Hilda Bassey Effiong (Hilda Baci) makes history by breaking the world record for the longest cooking marathon,” the president shared.
“A great day for Nigeria. We are all very proud of what she has personally achieved and for placing Nigeria in the global spotlight,” Buhari added.