Hilda Baci Awarded Record For World’s Longest Cooking Marathon

Guinness World Records can now confirm that Hilda Effiong Bassey, known as Hilda Baci, has officially broken the record for the longest cooking marathon, with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.

The 26-year-old Nigerian chef began her four-day kitchen stint on Thursday, May 11 and ended on Monday, May 15, cooking over 100 pots of food.

Hilda attempted to break the 100-hour mark, but nearly seven hours were deducted from her final total because she took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early in the attempt.

The participant is allowed a five-minute rest break for every continuous hour of activity, as with all ‘longest marathon’ records. If these rest breaks are not taken, they can add up. During the attempt, they were the only times Hilda could use the restroom or sleep.

Lata Tondon (India) set the previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes in 2019.

Hilda attempted this record to “put Nigerian cuisine on the map” and “to inspire young African women to chase their dreams.”

“I also decided to break this record to truly push my limits and test my abilities,” she added.

Hilda prepared for the event by making a 35-item menu “as a guide” for each meal she planned to cook.

She made sure she had all of the ingredients for each recipe, and her team went out and got more food while the cook-a-thon was going on “based on what needed to be topped up.”

Hilda’s record attempt captivated the social media world, with millions of people in Nigeria and beyond following her progress via an Instagram live stream.

Hilda’s cook-a-thon was so popular that our website crashed for two days due to the massive amount of traffic from her legion of devoted fans.

Several high-profile Nigerian figures, including Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu; and award-winning singer Tiwa, visited Hilda to support her record attempt.

Several rules were imposed on Hilda during her record-breaking cook-a-thon:

• At all times, at least two items must be prepared or cooked.
• A sous-chef may help with prep work, washing dishes, and cleaning the kitchen, but all cooking must be done by the person attempting the record.

One of the most important rules of our food-related record-keeping attempts is that all items must be consumed after they have been cooked.

To that end, Hilda invited any and all Nigerians to come and eat her freshly prepared meals. The Festus Fajemilo Foundation received all leftover food.

“My team’s and my goal for this event was to make it free to all and to feed the less privileged,” Hilda said.

Each pot of food Hilda cooked was large enough to serve 30-35 people, and “appropriate stock control was conducted” to avoid food waste.

Hilda decided to pursue a culinary career after graduating from Madonna University in Nigeria with a degree in sociology. Her mother, Lynda Ndukwe, who is also a chef, inspired her.

Hilda rose through the ranks, hosting the television show Dine on a Budget in 2020 and winning the Jollof Face-off competition in 2021. Hilda won as a representative of Nigeria, defeating Ghana’s Leslie Kumordzie.

She is now officially a Guinness World Records holder in 2023. Hilda, congratulations!

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