Nigerian chef and entrepreneur, Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, has broken the Guinness World Record for the “longest cooking marathon by an individual”.
The restaurateur kick-started the competition on Thursday at exactly 4pm after she turned on her cooker.
Hilda Baci reached this feat on Monday morning, with teeming supporters defying heavy rains to cheer her.
She beat the 87 hours 45 minutes record set by the current Guinness World Record holder, Lata Tondon, an Indian chef who made the feat in 2019.
The event, which is taking place at Amore Gardens in Lekki, Lagos, is being live-streamed on YouTube, and several celebrities, including Nigerians who have defied the rain to cheer up the visibly tired chef up.
The cook-a-thon’s Instagram account, @hildabacicookathon revealed that the event is headline sponsored by GB Foods. Other sponsors include Arla Foods, BaigeWallet, Filmhouse, Jumbo, Uber and Woodscope.
Nollywood actor, Charles Okocha; actress, Kate Henshaw; singer, Tiwa Savage; media personality, Enioluwa, and many others appeared at the event.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also visited the venue on Sunday to cheer up Baci.
Reasons
On why she embarked on the task, Hilda Baci said it is one of her biggest aspirations, adding that it is also an opportunity to tell some positive stories from Africa through the meals that we eat.
She said;
The journey to the cook-a-thon started five years ago. It is one of my biggest aspirations and I am glad that I took the bold step to embark on this adventure. I have taken time to prepare for this psychologically and I am proud to finally take on this challenge.
The cook-a-thon is also an opportunity to tell some of the positive stories that come from Africa through the meals that we make.
This attempt is also proof of the strength young people can exhibit with the right platform and support. I look forward to receiving support from people across the world to achieve this feat.
