Hilda Baci’s Longest Cooking Marathon World Record Broken, But Remains An Inspiration

The world record for the longest cooking marathon (individual) set by Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey, renowned as Hilda Baci, which was officially confirmed by the Guinness World Records (GWR) in June this year, has now been broken.

Baci had broken the record with a time of 93 hours, 11 minutes, beating the previous record of 87 hours and 45 minutes set by India’s Lata Tondon in 2019. The Nigerian chef prepared over 100 pots of food during her four-day kitchen marathon between May 11 and 15.

However, almost six months after, Baci’s longest cooking marathon (individual) world record, which she set in Lagos, Nigeria, has now been broken by another chef, Ireland’s Alan Fisher, owner and chef of a restaurant in Japan. The new world record holder, Fisher, was adjudged by the GWR to have broken two cooking-related Guinness World Records titles.

In a statement on their website today (November 7), the GWR stated that Irishman Fisher first claimed the longest cooking marathon (individual) after clocking in a time of 119 hours, 57 minutes, more than 24 hours longer than the previous record held by Nigerian chef Baci. It added that Fisher then claimed the longest baking marathon (individual), with a time of 47 hours, 21 minutes. The previous record holder was Wendy Sandner (USA) with a time of 31 hours 16 minutes.

“What’s even more impressive is that Alan took on both attempts back to back, meaning he was at work in the kitchen for over 160 hours with just over a day of rest in between!” The GWR stated.

On achieving the inspiring feat, 27-year-old Baci noted then that she attempted the record to “put Nigerian cuisine on the map” and “to inspire young African women to chase their dreams.” She added that she “also decided to break this record to truly push my limits and test my abilities.”

Indeed, she did. In achieving a personal milestone, Baci noted that she wanted to use her meals to tell positive stories about Africa. In an interview with Daily Trust, she spoke of the significance of her feat for the Nigerian girl-child in terms of achieving their dreams. Baci said, “The first thing I’ll say is that your dreams are valid. God has put something in your hands and you just need to figure out what to do with it.”

Similarly, Baci’s winning tweet by GWR was also declared their best-performing tweet at the time. The GWR had posted via their official X (formerly Twitter) handle on June 15, “Yeah, so this is our best-performing tweet of all time with nearly 25 million news feeds reached.”

Following its November 7 post to confirm the Irishman’s new record, a user on X (formerly Twitter), asked the GWR, “What about the rules of not applying until after a year”? It replied, “That was just a rumour, records can be broken anytime!”

For many Nigerians and Africans, Hilda Baci remains an inspiration, with some noting that her name would forever be written in the history books.

Baci later posted on her official X handle, “Huge congratulations to Alan Fisher! 119hrs 57mins is a huge achievement, and I wish him all the best as the new world record holder!

“I’m so happy to have held a record so prestigious and profound I will forever be honored and grateful for all the love and support.”