Although those working in commercial kitchens are no strangers to long hours and seemingly endless shifts, one Nigerian woman never left the kitchen for 4 days!
While on the internet you can find recipes trying to convince home cooks that they can put dinner together in 30 minutes or less, one chef has taken meal prep to another level by cooking for 100 hours. Nigerian chef Hilda Baci's goal was to beat the existing 87 hours and 45 minutes of cooking time. Guinness world record, and he achieved this by working with 55 different recipes, preparing 100 dishes and using 100 utensils.
For more than four consecutive days, Baci worked (and worked and worked) in a kitchen in Lagos, Nigeria, where he prepared dozens of different Nigerian dishes, including soups, rice, acarata and Jollof rice. According to the Associated Press, to meet Guinness World Records requirements, he was either allowed to take only one five-minute break every hour or rest for an hour after 12 hours of non-stop work.
Previous world record broken
Although Baci's 100-hour endurance race easily beat the previous record set by Indian chef Lata Tondon in 2019, his achievement has not yet been confirmed by Guinness. “We are aware of the record attempt and are waiting for evidence to be examined by our records management team before we can confirm the record is official,” said a Guinness spokesperson.
Of course, this has not stopped many from (rightly) celebrating what Baci has achieved. Thousands were there to cheer him on in person, and Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari took to Twitter to praise his achievement. “I share in the immense joy of all Nigerians that Hilda Bassey Effiong (Hilda Baci) has made history by breaking the world record for the longest cooking marathon,” he wrote. “A great day for Nigeria. We're all very proud of what she has personally achieved - and putting Nigeria in the global spotlight. Hilda's drive, ambition and resilience have brought great interest and insight into the uniqueness of Nigerian food,” Buhari continued in a second tweet. “She is now a cultural icon and I believe this achievement will inspire many other young people from across the country and beyond to follow in her footsteps.”
According to the BBC, Baci's original plan was to cook for 96 hours, but his audience encouraged him to try for three digits.
