Guinness World Record certifies Chef Hilda Baci after her record is challenged

Guinness World Records (GWR) has certified the record set by Nigerian chef Hilda Baci on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, for the longest cooking marathon by a single person, one month after she switched off her stoves. In its announcement, the GWR said it had analysed footage and evidence submitted from her cooking marathon and decided to award Chef Hilda, but ratified the time it actually took her to cook. "The current record stands at 87 hours and 45 minutes and was set by Lata Tondon in India in 2019. This is a challenging record with strict rules that must be followed throughout. These include: two items must be prepared or cooked at any one time and the number, name and weight of each item cooked must be submitted with the evidence. Hilda met all these rules, but anyone attempting a marathon record is given a 5 minute break for each hour completed," began a GWR official. Also read: Kenyan Chef Maliha Mohammed out to break two world records in cooking The GWR analysed the evidence provided by Chef Hilda's team and found that there had been a miscalculation when it came to Hilda's rest breaks. As a result, Headquarters was unable to award her the 100 hours of cooking she was aiming for, and instead recognised her for cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes, still the world's longest cooking marathon. "It's official now. I'm super excited, massive shout out to Guinness World Records, thanks for the recognition. It's a massive milestone. God did it!" celebrated Chef Hilda after the announcement. Chef Hilda's certification by GWR comes amidst the uproar over Chef Damilola Adeparusi, popularly known as Chef Dammy, attempting to break her record before GWR had finished analysing the evidence from Ms Baci's attempt and issued their official statement. Chef Dammy was aiming for 120 hours to beat Chef Hilda's original 100-hour cooking marathon attempt. Mixed reactions from Nigeria were witnessed on social media as thousands of people either encouraged the young Chef Dammy to reach for the stars and break records made to be broken, while others castigated her for not waiting for Chef Baci to be certified and shine for some time before embarking on her own attempt. She was also accused of being unoriginal and jealous for wanting the same record as Chef Baci. Chef Baci cooked from May 11, 2023 to May 15, 2023. On June 9, 2023 Chef Dammy started cooking and by June 13, 2023, she had cooked for over 104 hours. Today, she has reached her goal of 120 hours. She also congratulated Chef Baci on her birthday, wishing her even greater achievements and thanking her for her motivation. Also read: President Ruto rewards Faith Kipyegon for breaking world records