By Uche Amunike
Nigerian chef, Hilda Baci is set to break the Guinness Book of World’s Record for ‘longest cooking marathon by an individual.
The 27 year old chef and entrepreneur, with full name, Hilda Effiong Bassey, kick-started the competition on Thursday at exactly 4pm, after she turned on her gas cooker at the cooking event which is taking place at Amore Gardens in Lekki , Lagos.
So far, she has hit the 84-hour mark, which leaves her with less than 4 hours to beat the the 87-hours 45 minutes record set by the present Guinness World Record Holder, Tata London, an Indian chef who achieved that feat in 2019.
Chef Hilda Baci has entered her 4th day in the competition which has gathered attention both online and at the venue where celebrities are trooping in to support her.
The competition, which has been termed ‘cook-a-thon’, is being streamed live on YouTube. According to Chef Hilda Baci’ s Instagram account, @hildabacicookathon, the major sponsor of the event is GB Foods, while the other sponsors include Uber, Filmhouse, Arla Foods, Woodscope, Baigewallet and Filmhouse.
Note that Chef Hilda Baci is not new to competitions such as this. She took part in the maiden edition of the Jollof Face-off Competition that took place in 2021, where she made Nigeria proud by winning the grand price of $5000 dollars.
Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State already visited the venue of the competition to cheer the hardworking Chef Hilda Baci on and wish her luck.
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi has also encouraged her through a tweet on his verified tweeter account where he praised her for her determination and focus.
His words: ‘The efforts being made by Hilda Effiong Bassey (Hilda Baci) to beat the current Guinness World Record for cooking for 4 days nonstop shows the true Nigerian spirit of hardwork and resilience. I applaud her determination and focus on the goal, which are inspiring many Nigerian youths to live their dreams through hard work and dedication. I wish her well on this noble journey to pen her name in the golden book of history.’
Celebrities like Charles Okocha, Kate Henshaw, Tina Savage and the popular Chef Ify of Ify’s Kitchen were all at the venue to give their support to Baci.
Filmmaker, Kevin Adetiba also reached out on Twitter to show his support. Hear him: ‘REALLY rooting for HILDA BACI. Don’t know her personally, but her drive, ambition and resilience, inspires and motivates me IMMENSELY. Sending her prayers and the best vibes to PUSH THROUGH. She’s inspiring people she doesn’t even know. GO HILDA… YOU GOT THIS!!!’, he tweeted.
Among the rules guiding the competition is that Chef Hilda will cook for 4 days non-stop, round the clock and must stand throughout the duration of the cooking. She is allowed to eat good, drink water or fruit juice, but she is not allowed to take coffee, energy drinks or stimulants that might give her bodily strength during the competition. She is however permitted to take glucose.
Everything she cooks is distributed to people at the venue for free and she is to cook whatever she chooses as the competition is not about what is cooked, but rather, cooking in a time frame.
