Cooking 100 Hours, Nigerian Chef Hilda Baci Try To Break Guinness World Record

Chef Hilda Baci. (Instagram/myfoodbyHilda)

JAKARTA - Nigerian Chef Hilda Effiong Bassey has become a national sensation after cooking non-stop for 100 hours, in an attempt to set a Guinness world record.

Chef, known on social media as Hilda Baci, started cooking on Thursday last week and continues into Monday evening, creating more than 55 recipes and more than 100 foods designed to feature the best Nigerian cuisine in marathon kitchen sessions.

The Guinness world record committee still has to make sure that all of their criteria have been met and whether Chef Bassey will be a record holder, reported by CNN May 17.

Interestingly, Indian chef Lata Tondon, a cooking world record holder for 87 hours and 45 minutes in 2019 who was trying to break, uploaded a message of support to Chef Hilda.

Bassey told CNN he was motivated to try to break records because he wanted to put Nigerian food on the map.

"Masakan Nigeria adalah yang terbaik di luar sana," katanya.

"The more recipes that are distributed, the more people who want to try it. Nigerian food is a calming food," he said.

Despite lack of sleep while cooking at Lagos, Bassey remains excited and looks dancing and waving at his fans who come in droves to support him.

President Muhammadu Buhari and several politicians and celebrities congratulate Bassey, as quoted by Reuters.

A man, Uduak Obong, said he traveled by bus all night, traveling hundreds of kilometers to arrive at the venue in Lagos.

"I drove 12 hours to be here to support my sister, my friend. She's amazing," he said.

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A post shared by Myfood By Hilda Baci (@myfoodbyhilda)

A post shared by Myfood By Hilda Baci (@myfoodbyhilda)

While Enioluwa Adeoluwa, a media figure, who also serves as MC for the cooking show, told: "When a Nigerian does something, we all go out to show support... We are very excited. He does an amazing job."

Celebrities including musician Tiwa Savage and local politicians visit Bassey during cooking challenges.

"He opens the door to the African food market and shows all the youths here that if you can dream of it, you can achieve it," said Nollywood actor and star Damilola Ogunsi.

Bassey told CNN he almost gave up on the first day. But after surpassing the previous record, he decided to reach 100 hours.

"The first day was the most difficult. I was ready to give up 6 hours. I felt like a miracle happened and somehow I did. His support was incredible," he said.

It is known, a menu cooked by a mixture of local and foreign dishes, ranging from jollof rice to pasta and roota, made from peanut flour.

"We are aware of efforts to record this record and look forward to receiving evidence for review by our Record Management Team, before we can confirm that the record is official," a Guinness World Records spokesperson said.

Officials on record teams hope to review the available evidence and hope to be able to verify Hilda's efforts as a new record in the near future, Guinness said.