Guinness World Records (GWR) has confirmed that Hilda Bassey, better known as Hilda Baci, has officially broken the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.
The announcement was made on Tuesday via the GWR website.
The 26-year-old chef began on May 11 and ended on May 15, preparing over 100 pots of food during her four-day kitchen stint.
Explaining why some hours were deducted from her attempt to set a record of 100 hours, the GWR said Hilda Baci mistakenly took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early on in the attempt.
“Hilda attempted to set a record of 100 hours, 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,” the GWR said.
Indian chef Lata Tondon held the previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes set in 2019.
The GWR said that its website crashed for two days due to the immense traffic from Hilda Baci’s fans.
“Hilda’s cook-a-thon was in fact so popular that our website crashed for two days due to the immense volume of traffic we received from her legion of loyal fans,” it said.
The GWR also said that the graduate of sociology from Madonna University abided by the rules; one of which is that there must be at least two items being prepared or cooked at any time.
The chef’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.
The GWR also highlighted that several high-profile Nigerian figures visited to support her during her record attempt, such as former Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and singer Tiwa Savage.
