Bernice Larryoboh
Following a thorough review of all the evidence, Guinness World Records has confirmed 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.
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.
The 26-year-old Nigerian chef who began on Thursday 11 May and continued through to Monday 15 May, cooking over 100 pots of food during her four-day kitchen stint, 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.
According to Hilda, she attempted this record to put Nigerian cuisine on the map and to inspire young African women to chase their dreams as the previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes was set by Lata Tondon (India) in 2019.
“I also decided to break this record to truly push my limits and test my abilities,” she added.
Hilda prepared for the event as she created a 35-item menu as a guide for every meal that she would cook and 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.
Her record attempt took the world of social media by storm, with millions in Nigeria and beyond following her progress via an Instagram live stream as the cook-a-thon was so popular.
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.
According to Hilda, “each pot of food I cooked was big enough to serve 30-35 people, and appropriate stock control was conducted to avoid any wastage of food.
“My goal and that of my team for this event was to make it free to all and to feed the less privileged”.