Hilda Baci, a courageous, daring chef from Nigeria, has quite literally cooked up a storm in her kitchen.
Dishes and pots of authentic Nigerian cuisine were cooked for hours on end, attracting a large gathering of loyal fans who had come to extend their moral support to the 26-year-old chef.
Breaking the world record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), previously held by an Indian Chef based in the city of Rewa, named Lata Tondon (87 hours and 45 minutes), the young and spirited Hilda became an overnight sensation both online and onsite at the cook-a-thon in Lagos.
Striving to put Nigeria on the global culinary map, Chef Baci turned on her stove at exactly 15.00 GMT on Thursday, the 11th of May 2023 and cooked nonstop until the following Monday.
Clocking in 100 hours of cooking time, the Nigerian chef was permitted a five-minute break per hour to freshen up, sleep or relax. Hilda was allowed to either use the breaks or accumulate them. Unfortunately, the officials of the Guinness World Records (GWR) were compelled to deduct seven hours from her total cooking time, (100 hours) logging only 93 hours and 11 minutes, as she had taken a longer rest break than what was allowed on one occasion.
In her goal to spotlight Nigerian delicacies while attempting to break a world record, Chef Hilda prepared a number of authentic dishes including jollof rice, an array of pasta and other types of rice, Akara- a popular choice for street food made from deep-fried mashed beans, etc.
100 hours and four days’ worth of cooking meant food sufficient to feed a whole village. As Hilda worked her magic in the kitchen at lightning speed what happened to all the food she made?
The Guinness World Records, in all food-related record attempts, reinforces a strict policy of prohibiting food wastage. In fact, the rule for Hilda was that all food items being prepared had to be consumed after cooking. Therefore, Hilda’s cook-a-thon was made a public event where everyone could eat her freshly cooked meals while the remainder was donated to the Festus Fajemilo Foundation.
“My team’s and my goal for this event was to make it free to all and to feed the less privileged,” Hilda said.
As per GWR rules, Hilda was permitted one sous-chef at a time to assist with prep work including washing up and cleaning the space. The entirety of the role of cooking had to be carried out by Hilda Baci, and it was mandatory that she cook/prepare at least two items at any given time.
The young African chef is by no means an amateur in the world of highly competitive cooking competitions and battles, for she previously competed and ultimately defeated everyone in a Ghanaian and Nigerian food competition named “Jollof Faceoff” in 2021.
Hilda’s sole motivation to power through this tedious act was her aim to do something unorthodox that would highlight her country’s cuisine and empower other African women to take risks and put themselves on the map.
The GWR states that Hilda’s public display of cooking for 100 hours garnered massive online traffic on their official website, resulting in its constant crashing, by the chef’s fans. In addition to live streams on Instagram tracking Hilda’s progress, several Nigerian politicians and celebrities visited her on location to show their support.
Hilda’s awe-inspiring culinary mastery is in fact, hereditary, as her mother too was a chef, and the source of inspiration for the new Guinness World Record holder to portray immense love and respect for homemade, authentic Nigerian recipes.
