Guinness World Records has officially certified Nigerian chef, Hilda Effiong Bassey, aka Hilda Baci, who broke the record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.
Guinness World Records posted this on their official Twitter account which reads: “Following a thorough review of all the evidence, Guinness World Records can now confirm that Hilda Effiong Bassey, better known as Hilda Baci, has officially broken the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.”
Hilda Baci cooked for 100 hours non-stop, breaking India’s Lata Tondon’s 87 hours 45 minutes record of uninterrupted cook-a-thon.
The 26-year-old Nigerian celebrity chef began cooking from Thursday 11 May 2023 to Monday 15 May, cooking over 100 Nigerian dishes during her four-day kitchen stint.
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Even though Hilda attempted to set a record of 100 hours of cooking, however, almost seven hours were deducted by Guinness World Records from her initial 100 hours because she mistakenly took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early on in the attempt.
Hilda said she attempted this record to “put Nigerian cuisine on the map” and “to inspire young African women to chase their dreams.”
Her record-breaking attempt took the world and social media by storm, with millions in Nigeria and beyond following her progress via an Instagram live stream.
“Hilda’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,” Guinness World Records stated.
During her cook-a-thon, several high-profile Nigerian figures visited Hilda to support her. Some of those were the former Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu; and award-winning singer Tiwa Savage.
Hilda was born on 20 September 1996, in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. She graduated with a degree in sociology from Madonna University, in Okija, Rivers State.
She was the host of Dine on a Budget, a television show that airs on Pop Central TV.
Baci embarked on a culinary education program, drawing inspiration from her mother, a culinary chef.
In August 2021, she won the Jollof Faceoff competition. She represented Nigeria at the competition. She cooked the best jollof in the competition, ahead of countries like Ghana, Liberia, and Senegal.