Guinness World Records can now declare that Hilda Effiong Bassey, also known as Hilda Baci, has officially broken the record for the longest cooking marathon (person), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes, after an in-depth review of all the evidence.
The 26-year-old Nigerian chef began her four-day kitchen stint on Thursday, May 11 and ended on Monday, May 15, cooking almost 100 pots of meals.
Hilda attempted to break the 100-hour record, but nearly seven hours were omitted from her final total because she took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early in the endeavor.
As with all ‘longest marathon’ records, the competitor is allowed a five-minute break for every hour of nonstop movement. If not taken, these rest pauses might build up. Hilda could only rest or use the restroom during those brief intervals.
The previous benchmark, which Lata Tondon (India) set in 2019, was 87 hours and 45 minutes.
Hilda attempted this record to “put Nigerian cuisine on the map” and “to inspire young African women to chase their dreams.”
“I also decided to break this record to truly push my limits and test my abilities,” she added.
In order to prepare for the occasion, Hilda made a 35-item menu that she used “as a guide” for each meal that she would prepare.
She made sure she had everything she needed to make each recipe, and while the cook-a-thon was going on, her staff went out and bought more food “based on what was needed to be topped up.”
A live Instagram stream allowed millions of people in Nigeria and elsewhere to follow Hilda’s record attempt as it unfolded.
This In fact, Hilda’s cook-a-thon was so well-attended that the massive amount of traffic from her devoted followers caused Guinness World Records website to go down for two days based on a report we had.
The Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, and award-winning musician Tiwa Savage all paid Hilda a visit to show their support for her record attempt.
Several guidelines had to be followed by Hilda during her world-record-breaking cook-a-thon:
At any given time, there must be at least two products being cooked or prepped.
A sous-chef is allowed to help with preparation, cleanup, and cleaning of the kitchen, but the person setting the record must handle all the cooking.
- all items must be consumed after cooking.
- To this end, Hilda invited any and all members of the Nigerian public to come and eat her freshly made meals.
- All leftover food was donated to the Festus Fajemilo Foundation.
“My team’s and my goal for this event was to make it free to all and feed the less privileged,” Hilda explained.
Each pot of food Hilda cooked was large enough to serve 30-35 people, and “appropriate stock control was conducted” to avoid food waste.
Hilda opted to pursue a culinary career after graduating from Madonna University in Nigeria with a degree in sociology. Her mother, Lynda Ndukwe, who is also a chef, influenced her.
Hilda rose through the ranks, hosting the television show Dine on a Budget in 2020 and winning the Jollof Face-off competition in 2021. Hilda won as a representative of Nigeria, defeating Ghana’s Leslie Kumordzie.
