The Guiness Book of Records has officially confirmed Nigerian chef, Hilda Baci’s “Cook-a-Thon” record for her efforts in her 100-hour non-stop cooking she achieved last month.
The GWR which made the confirmation on Tuesday, however, logged her record at 93 hours 11 minutes, docking her seven hours for taking a longer break than allowed on one occasion.
But the 27-year-old’s time still beats the previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes held by Indian chef, Lata Tondon, set in 2019, by more than five hours.
A statement by GWR on its Twitter handle said:
“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.”
Baci who became a national sensation after cooking for four days, chalked up 100 hours of non-stop cooking and was allowed a five-minute break each hour.
During her record-breaking venture, Baci used more than 100 different dishes from when she turned on her cooker at 15:00 GMT on Thursday, May 11, and stopped cooking on Monday, May 14.
Baci cooked mostly Nigerian meals including the very popular jollof rice, as well as different types of rice and pasta, and also made akara— a popular street food made from deep-fried mashed beans, which were later handed out to invited guests to sample.
After the marathon cooking session, Baci spoke of her motivation:
“I just knew that I need to do something that is… out of the ordinary to put myself on the map, to put Nigeria on the map, to put young African women on the map.”