Something spectacular is ongoing in Lagos, Nigeria. Hilda Bassey Effiong (Hilda Baci) has cooked to break the world record for the longest cooking time, last held by 43-year-old Indian Chef Lata Tondon. She is the first woman to break the title in 2019, with 20 hours more than the previous record. The title was previously held only by men. But Tondon cooked nonstop for 87 hours and 45 minutes to earn the coveted Guinness World Record. As of press time, Hilda Baci had cooked for over 90 hours.
Hilda Baci is a 27-year-old Nigerian Chef from Nsit Ubium LGA in Akwa Ibom State. She graduated from Madonna University, Okija, Nigeria, with a sociology degree. She is also an actor, TV presenter, TV producer, host, CEO of MY Food by Hilda, and COO of MyFood Delivery Services.
She was the Nigerian contestant and winner of the Jollof Faceoff Competition in 2021 in Ghana. Although she started her food business from her apartment in 2020, she eventually opened her restaurant, My Food by Hilda, in June 2022.
The saying, ‘an apple does not fall far from the tree,’ applies very much to Hilda. This is because she is the daughter of a famous Nigerian food vendor and owner of Calabar Pot.
In a press briefing, she mentioned that her “Cook-A-thon” would span from Thursday, the 11th, to Monday evening, the 15th of May, at Amore Gardens in Lekki, Lagos. “I am also doing this to push FoodByHilda Restaurant to the highest height. I am trying to build a sustainable business, expand my business and get investors to invest in it,” she tells The Leadership, a Nigerian news outlet. “I am trying to build a household name, and those who have succeeded have had to do incredible things.”
Hilda Baci is a high-impact individual. She has trained over 5,000 women and girls on how to cook. “I have occasional cooking classes where I teach people online. I am very intentional about ensuring people understand what I am doing. So, I go as far as incentivizing my students. I have trained over 5,000 women and girls in the last year and six months. It has been a very wholesome experience for me,” the report states
On June 13th, after reviewing videos and evidence, Guinness World Records declared Hilda the new holder of the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours and 11 minutes.
