Guinness World Records (GWR) has affirmed chef Hilda Baci's victory as the new record holder for the world's longest cooking marathon by an individual.
Baci's victory was awarded after a thorough review by Guinness Records, on the procedures followed throughout her cooking attempt.
"Following a thorough review of all the evidence, Guinness World Records can now confirm that Hilda Effiong 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," GWR said on Tuesday, June 13.
According to Guinness Records, the awarding criteria notes that Baci was to abide by certain rules to be considered a record holder, in which she must have at least two items being prepared or cooked at any time.
Additionally, her under-chef is allowed to assist in cooking preparations but all the cooking must be done by the individual attempting the record.
"One of the most important rules of our food-related record attempts is that all items must be consumed after cooking. To this end, Hilda invited any and all members of the Nigerian public to come and eat her freshly made meals," GWR said.
On May 11, the Nigerian chef went on a four- days cooking marathon challenge in which she attempted to set a record of 100 hours.
However, according to Guinness, 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," Guinness Records noted.
The 27-year-old began the cooking marathon that went up to May 15 at Amore Gardens, Lekki in Lagos.
She had set up a 'cook-a-thon' for four days and nights to break the previous record of 87 hours 45 minutes that was set by Lata Tondon in India in 2019.
Baci prepared herself for the challenge by creating a 35-item menu for every meal that she would cook and ended up cooking over one hundred and ten meals.
Her record attempt went viral on social media, gaining massive following from across the globe.
"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."
Nigerian leaders, celebrities, influencers and film stars actively supported Baci's attempt by being present at the venue and showering her with words of encouragement and affirmation.
After graduating from Madonna University, Nigeria, with a degree in sociology, Hilda decided to embark on her culinary career. She was inspired by her mother, Lynda Ndukwe, who is also a chef.
