Hilda Bassey Effiong (Hilda Baci), achieved a new world record by cooking – nonstop – over 100 dishes for 100 hours from May 11 to May 14, 2023, at Amore Gardens in Lekki, Lagos.
Nowe Segun-Ojo, the Hilda Baci cook-a-thon project lead, assembled teams consisting of medical, production, PR, digital, and culinary experts to support Hilda. While speaking with BusinessDay about the sweats behind the success, she said “I feel very fulfilled. We did this with a lot of integrity, it’s all-natural. It is good for young girls to see that they can dream big, share their dreams with the right people and most importantly, invest in themselves to make those dreams come true.”
Further, she said that finance and brand support were the major hurdles team Hilda had to jump.
“The turn-out exceeded our projection. We initially planned for 4,000 to 5,000 attendees over four days, overestimating the crowd,” Segun-Ojo said. “The number of physical attendees reached over 8,000 by the second day, accounting for arrivals and departures. Although data for the third and fourth days are unavailable, multiplying the figure by two would suggest an approximate total of 16,000 attendees. So all of the resources that we planned for in four days finished in a day and a half.”
“Regarding online participation, statistics were available for two days,” she continued. “By the second day, the online audience had surpassed one million, and the comprehensive data is yet to be compiled.”
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Read also: Meet Chef Hilda Baci who cooked her way to world record
Hilda Baci successfully achieved her goal on May 16, 2023, at 8:00 pm. However, the Guinness World Records is still reviewing her record-breaking feat before confirming it. The institution tweeted that they need to review all the evidence before officially acknowledging the record.
If her achievement is confirmed, she will be joining other Nigerian Guinness World Record holders such as Bose Omolayo, Stephen Keshi, Bayo Omoboriowo, Mfon Udoh, Fela Kuti, Vincent Okezie, Blessing Okagbare, Tuedon Morgan, Wizkid and Rema, who have set records in various fields.
Pictures by: Raymond Njoku (AceSeven Photos); Twitter, and IG
