After reviewing all the footage, Guinness World Records (GWR) announced Monday that Hilda Baci is the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon (individual).
Although Hilda attempted to set a record of 100 hours, the Guinness World Records officials said a slight mistake on her part affected her set time goal.
The 26-year-old Nigerian chef began on Thursday, 11 May, and continued to Monday, 15 May, cooking over 100 pots of food during her four-day kitchen stint.
They noted, ‘‘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.
“As with all ‘longest marathon’ records, the participant is permitted a five-minute rest break for every continuous hour of activity. These rest breaks can be accumulated if not taken. They were the only times Hilda could use the bathroom or sleep during the attempt”.
Following a thorough review of all the evidence, Guinness World Records said the celebrity chef has officially broken the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.
Lata Tondon, an Indian chef, set the previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes in India in 2019.
Hilda prepared for the event by creating a 35-item menu “as a guide” for every meal that she would cook.
She ensured that she had the necessary ingredients to make each recipe, with her team procuring additional food items while the cook-a-thon was underway “based on what was needed to be topped up.”
Record-breaking attempt
Hilda’s record attempt took the world of social media by storm, with millions in Nigeria and beyond following her progress via an Instagram live stream.
GWR noted that Hilda’s cook-a-thon was so popular that their website crashed for two days due to the immense traffic volume from her loyal fans.
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.
Strict Guidelines
Hilda was required to abide by several rules during her record-breaking cook-a-Thon, and the GWR team reiterated a few of them in a statement on Monday.
They noted, ‘‘There must be at least two items being prepared or cooked at any time. A sous-chef is permitted to assist in prep work, washing up, and cleaning the kitchen area, but the individual attempting the record must do all the cooking. One of the essential rules of our food-related record attempts is that all items must be consumed after cooking’’.
To this end, they noted that Hilda invited all Nigerian public members to come and eat her freshly made meals.
According to Hilda, each pot of food she cooked was big enough to serve 30-35 people, and “appropriate stock control was conducted” to avoid any wastage.
