Hilda Baci set out to break a world record last week, Photo: Hilda Baci, Instagram
She’s a woman on a mission. Chef Hilda Bassey set her eyes on the prize, and made a bid to break a Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.
Known on social media as Hilda Baci, the Nigerian chef told CNN that she set out to break the record in order to showcase Nigerian delicacies.
“Nigerian cuisine is the best out there,” Bassey said.
“The more recipes are propagated, the more people will be willing to try it. Nigerian food is such comfort food,” she continued.
Bassey reportedly got to work on Thursday May 11, and continued cooking throughout the weekend and into Monday May 15, making 55 different recipes and more than 100 meals. She surpassed the previous world record of 87 hours and 45 minutes, stopping just after the 100-hour mark.
The previous record was set by Indian chef Lata Tondon back in 2019. Tondon shared her support of Bassey’s attempt in a video posted to Instagram.
“All the best Hilda. Hope to see you on official site of Guinness Book Of World Record soon!” Tondon captioned the video.
Online, many people have shared their support of Bassey, praising her for taking on the challenge.
“Nigeria to the world. The Naija youths are so energetic and filled with wonderful potentials. Proud to be a Nigerian at this time with @HildaBacci_ you rock girl,” wrote one Twitter user.
“[S]tand upp!!! What eyes have not seen nor ears heard!!! HILDA the Guinness world record holder!!! HILDA!! You did this! Thank you for this!! ? thank you for going so boldly for your Dreams!!! I love you so much!!! Thank you for healing my non dreaming heart! THE WORLD WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR NAME!!” commented a fan on Bassey’s Instagram.
Bassey shared that her team is working on submitting their evidence to Guinness World Records.
“Thank you all for all the love and appreciation you have shown throughout this journey towards achieving a world record, it has been amazing. We would like you to know we haven’t received the award yet and we’re currently working on uploading our evidence,” Bassey said in a statement posted to social media, adding that the evidence must be reviewed before they can receive their award.
Guinness World Records shared that its team is looking forward to reviewing her evidence and hope that they will be able to verify Bassey as a world record holder soon. Let’s leave some love for Hilda in the comments!
