Which country is Hilda Baci from? Age, number of hours cooked, dishes, and all about the Guinness World Record Cook-A-Thon chef

Hilda Baci, a 27-year-old chef from Nigeria has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records by smashing the four-year-old record of the “longest cooking marathon by an individual”. The cooking marathon was held in Amore Garden in Lagos, Nigeria for four days. It began on Thursday, May 11, and after Hilda’s record, it came to an end on Monday, May 15.

The previous record for the Guinness World ‘Cookathon’ Record was held by Lata Tandon from India’s Rewa. Tondon cooked meals for 87 hours and 45 minutes to make the record on September 7, 2019. Four years later, on Thursday, at 4 pm, Hilda took the challenge to break the record and completed it at around 7:46 am on Monday.

However, she did not stop cooking even after breaking Tandon’s record time, and aimed to cook for more than 96 hours in total.

As per the requirements of the cook-a-thon, the chef needed to prepare 80 recipes. While the recipes could be repetitive, Hilda had to continue cooking for four days and four nights without stopping. So far, she has prepared 35 sides, cold dishes, soups, and sauces which are mostly Nigerian cuisine.

---

Hilda Baci has been preparing for this moment for five years

The young chef currently works a full-time job at a fashion retail company. Apart from that, she also appears as a presenter in cooking shows on TV. Hilda Baci hosted a talent show called MTN Yello Star in 2020. She graduated from Okija’s Madonna University where she pursued sociology.

Before getting her name in the Guinness World Records, Hilda Baci earned her country its first national food bragging rights in 2021 after winning the Jollof competition. She represented Nigeria against Ghana’s Chef Seyram Leslie Kumordzie and took home a whopping prize money of $5,000.

Hilda Baci has continued to receive a massive wave of support from celebrities, clerics, political leaders, and other Nigerians. Last month, on April 2, 2023, she made an announcement on Instagram and said that she was finally on her way to making her five-year-long dream a reality.

She revealed that she will cook without a break for four days and four nights to break Lata Tandon’s cook-a-thon record.

Hilda shared her journey of cook-a-thon with the reporters and said that it started five years ago. She said that it was one of her biggest aspirations and she was glad that she took the undaunted step to venture into this adventure. Hilda added that she had taken time to psychologically prepare for the challenge and she was proud to finally take on it.

The 27-year-old chef previously could not participate in the Guinness cook-a-thon due to her finances. However, she soon drew out a plan to save enough money for the competition which brought her here, five years later.

Hilda Baci added that the cook-a-thon was an opportunity for her to tell some positive stories from Africa through the meals that they make. She added:

“This attempt is also proof of the strength young people can exhibit with the right platform and support. I look forward to receiving support from people across the world to achieve this feat.”

Hilda previously shared in an interview that she did not have formal culinary training. Her work is inspired by the Holy Spirit and vibes. Hilda said that she wishes to receive proper training one day since she takes cooking classes herself, so she would reach a point where she would want to learn more in order to have more to offer her students.

Among the many celebrities and chefs who wished Hilda on her cook-a-thon, previous record holder Lata Tondon was one. She took to Instagram and wished the young chef good luck.