Nigerian Chef Hilda Baci Breaks World Record In Cooking Marathon

By Saeed Tijjani

Hilda Bassey Effiong, the Nigerian chef fondly called Hilda Baci, has broken the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

Baci achieved the new feat in the early hours of Monday at the Amore Gardens, Lekki in Lagos.

The competition — better known as cook-athon — started on Thursday at exactly 4 pm after the restaurateur turned on her cooker.

Baci aimed to beat the 87 hours 45 minutes record set by Lata Tondon, the Indian chef who is the current Guinness World Record holder. Tondon achieved the feat in 2019.

But on Monday, the Nigerian surpassed Tondon’s time to set a new record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

Baci, it is understood, will be stopping the cook-a-thon when she hit the 97-hour mark.

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor, visited the Lekki venue, while Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president, hailed Hilda for “standing at the crossroads of history”.

A plethora of celebrities like Dremo, IK Osakioduwa, Eni Adeoluwa, Timini Egbuson, Liquorose, Tiwa Savage, Spyro, Charles Okocha, and Skiibii also visited the venue of the competition to cheer up Baci.