Hilda Effiong Bassey, also known as Hilda Baci, a Nigerian chef, has set out on a quest to beat the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking period by an individual.
Hilda Baci is attempting to cook for 96 hours, using the extra 9 hours to beat the world record for the most time spent cooking a marathon.
Lata Tondon, an Indian chef, presently holds the world record for the longest cooking marathon, which she performed in Rewa, India in 2019 in 87 hours, 45 minutes, and 00 seconds.
Baci began her four-day cooking marathon challenge on May 11th in the Amore Gardens, and she is nearly finished.
Here are 20 things to know about Hilda Baci
- Her real name is Hilda Bassey Effiong. She is a young Nigerian chef from Akwa Ibom State. She owes a food brand in Lagos called “My Food by Hilda”
- She will be cooking for 4 days non-stop.
- She must stand to cook, she is not permitted to sit while cooking.
- She’s not allowed to take coffee, stimulants, or any energy drink to artificially boost her energy and bodily strength while cooking.
- She’s allowed to eat food, drink water or fruit juice, and take glucose.
- The cooking is taking place at Amore Gardens, Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria.
- She cooks round the clock, no sleep (Morning, afternoon, evening, and night. So, for 4 nights, she won’t sleep).
- She has just 5 minutes rest per hour [meaning for every 1 hour, she is entitled to just 5 minutes rest or break, that’s an hour break in every 12 hours].
She gets a 30-minute break every 6 hours, she spends the 30mins in a medical van which is just close by, within which she can nap, use the restroom, and also get a medical assessment or checkup by the medical team available on the spot. - Whatever she cooks is shared to the people at the venue for FREE. She is not selling the food.
- She cooks different meals simultaneously. She is at liberty to cook any meal she likes. There are no restrictions as to what she can cook or not cook.
The World Record title is about cooking within a time frame, not about what is cooked. As long as she is cooking, she is on track. - Every meal cooked and every plate served is recorded. She has cooked over 115 meals so far with almost 3,000 portions if not more by the time you are reading this.
- She started the cooking on Thursday and is expected to complete the target time frame by Monday 15th May, 2023 evening.
- The current holder of the title Hilda seeks to break is an Indian chef Lata Tandon, who set a Guinness World Record for cooking for 87 hours and 45 minutes non-stop in 2019.
- To break the record, Hilda Baci is attempting to cook for 96 hours, using extra 9 hours to break the world record as the first human on earth to spend such an amount of time cooking a marathon.
- She tagged the cooking project “Cook-a-thon”, a phrase literally coined from the word “marathon”
- She appears exhausted already, but the people around her are cheering her on to boost her morale. And they are available with her as she cook 247, even at night.
- Most of the food items, ingredients, utensils, etc she used for this project are provided by her sponsors. So, the money expended on this project is not 100% from Hilda or her Food brand.
- Uber, one of her partners is offering a 40% discounted ride to the venue for people who wishes to join and cheer her up at the venue.
- Hilda’s mum is also a chef. She owes a food brand called “Calabar Pot”
- She is 27 years old.
Why the challenge?
Baci stated that undertaking the assignment was one of her greatest ambitions, adding that it is also an opportunity to communicate some wonderful stories from Africa through the meals that we eat.
“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,” she said.
Support
Thousands of Nigerians have shown their support for Hilda Baci including politicians and celebrities. Her ambition to make history has sparked a lot of interest among Nigerians, who are still rallying behind her on social media and at the cook-a-thon location, Amore Gardens in Lekki, Lagos State.
Baci’s growth has being streamed live for millions of people on various social media sites, and she has been trending on all of them.
In an Instagram live video on Sunday, Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, expressed his support for the young Akwa-Ibom indigene, writing, “IDAN doesn’t break, she breaks records.” Hilda, we’re rooting for you.”
The governor of Lagos State, Babjide Sanwo-Olu who was at the cooking scence tweeted, “I showed up to support Chef Hilda Baci, in her quest to break the Guinness World Record @GWR for the longest time spent cooking by an individual.
“Her dedication, passion for cooking as well as her desire to put our rich culture on the map by not only exhibiting our food but also the resilience, determination, energy and team spirit that has come to be known as the spirit of Lagos and indeed Nigeria is truly remarkable.
“We are proud to have Hilda embarking on this journey in our state. I will continue to follow the updates and look forward to the final declaration,” he said.
