By Culton Scovia Nakamya

Hilda Bassey Effiong popularly known as Hilda Buci is smiling ear to ear after successfully cooking for 100 hours, breaking the Guinness world cooking record by an individual.

The record has since 2019 been held by Lata Tondon an Indian chef. Tondon cooked for 87hours and 45 minutes.

On Thursday May 11th, Hilda Baci came out to challenge the recorder holder. She had initially set to cook meals for 96 hours but by Monday evening, she closed the challenge after cooking for 100 hours.

This is so far the longest cooking record by an individual.

Baci’s 4 days cook-a-thon challenge sought to exhibit the resilience, hard work and determination of the Nigerian women. Every hour, she only got a supervised break of five minutes to refresh, rest, change clothes or do medical checkups.  At some point, she felt her legs hurting but was determined to shoot to the record.

Hundreds of people across Nigeria flocked lekki in Lagos cityto give Hilda moral support. They cheered the chef through the days and nights of the cook-a-thon. She has also received a wave of support from musicians like Tiwa Savage, BurnaBoy, media personalities, political leaders, among others. For four days Baci became a household name across Nigeria.

The 27 year old has since become a national sensation, attracting recognitions from all fields of life.

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buari said congratulated Baci for exhibited hard work, resilience and inspiring women to live their dreams. “Hilda’s drive, ambition and resilience have brought great interest and insight into the uniqueness of Nigerian food. She is now a cultural icon, and I believe that this feat will inspire many more young people, in Nigeria and beyond, to follow in her footsteps”.

The Guinness World Records did not attend or supervise the challenge, but has announced via social media, are reviewing evidence provided, before confirming Hilda Baci’s world record.