The Guinness World Records (GWR) has confirmed Hilda Baci as the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon individual category.

The announcement was made today, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. 

Born Hilda Effiong Bassey but popularly known as Hilda Baci, her attempt has made her a sensation not just in Nigeria but all over the West African region, for cooking for more than 90 hours non stop in her attempt to break the Guinness world record.

During her sensational attempt, Ms Baci cooked over 100 dishes, most of which were Nigerian.

According to the GWR, after reviewing all the evidence, Hilda Baci officially has broken the record for the longest cooking marathon (individual), with a time of 93 hours 11 minutes.

The 26-year-old Nigerian chef began to cook on Thursday, 11 May 2023, and continued to Monday, 15 May, spending four-days in the kitchen thronged by fans from all walks of life including the worlds of entertainment and politics. 

It was reported Hilda recorded 100 hours of cooking time but it has been revealed that almost seven hours of her final total was deducted because she mistakenly took extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early on when she started. 

The GWR explained saying: "As with all ‘longest marathon’ records, the participant is permitted to take a five-minute rest break for every continuous hour of activity. These rest breaks the person can put together and take all at once. These are the only times Hilda could go use the bathroom or sleep during the attempt."

Also, according to the Guinness World Records, Hilda's cook-a-thon in fact was so sensational their website crashed for two days due to the magnitude of traffic received from her following local and international. 

On her part, Hilda said her attempt at the record was to “put Nigerian food on the map” and “to inspire young African women to chase their dreams," adding: "I also decided to break this record to truly push my limits and test my abilities."

She revealed also that she prepared for the event by creating a 35-item menu “as a guide” for every meal she planned to cook. Eventually when she was at it, her team was out shopping for ingredients to top up her supplies when and where necessary.

India's Lata Tondon in 2019 set the previous cook-a-thon record of 87 hours 45 minutes.