Photo: Guinness World Records
A Nigerian chef has officially become the world record holder for the longest cooking marathon.
On Tuesday (June 13), the Guinness World Record (GWR) committee confirmed that 26-year-old Hilda Effiong Bassey, known on social media as Hilda Baci, set a new world record after cooking for four consecutive days last month, per CNN.
“I can now announce that with a time of 93 hours and 11 minutes, Hilda Baci is the new holder for the Guinness World Records title of the longest cooking marathon,” a GWR adjudicator identified as Mark said in a video posted on Twitter.
Bassey began the cook-a-thon on Thursday, May 11 and finished on Monday, May 15. During that time, she produced nearly 100 pots of food, according to the GWR.
“When I found out, I cried, prayed, and screamed,” Bassey said of when she learned she was a world record holder. “Then I called my mum and we cried some more. I am so happy. Everything and all the hard work was worth it. I said I wanted to be a record holder and now I am. This is for all my team members and for all the hard work."
The chef actually cooked for 100 hours, but she was penalized for an error in her scheduled rest breaks, according to the world record committee. “There was a miscalculation when it came to Hilda’s rest breaks, meaning we are unable to award the 100 hours claimed,” the adjudicator said.
The world record for the longest cook-a-thon was previously held by Indian chef Lata Tondon, who cooked for 87 hours and 45 minutes in 2019.
Bassey's record-breaking feat was so popular that it crashed the GWR website for two days “due to the immense volume of traffic we received from her legion of loyal fans,” the organization said.
“I also want to thank Nigerians. They are so awesome. The support was so great. We really did something amazing,” Bassey said.
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