Hilda Baci, a Nigerian celebrity chef and holder of the Guinness World Record, has given an explanation for her decision to cook 200 bags of rice rather than the 250 she had originally intended to in an attempt to break the record for the largest dish of Jollof rice prepared the Nigerian way.
Hilda Baci, who rose to fame in 2023 thanks to her record-breaking cook-a-thon, launched her most recent culinary challenge at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, attracting a sizable audience of foodies, dignitaries, and celebrities.
The event, which held on Friday, quickly took over social media with music, dancing, and appearances from public figures, including Nollywood actress Funke Akindele, dancer Kaffy, and the First Lady of Ogun State, Bamidele Abiodun.
In an interview with reporters at the location, Hilda Baci stated that her choice to reduce the amount of rice was solely technical.
She further clarified that the measuring crane and scale designed to weigh the final dish had a limit of 20,000 kilogrammes, including the weight of the custom-made pot.
“If you notice when we started we weighed the pot and we need to weigh every single thing that goes into the pot when we’re done.
“The goal was that by the time I was done making 5,000 kilogrammes I was hoping to achieve about 17,000 to 18,000 kilogrammes. Right now, if I include the weight of the pot, that’s about 20,000.
“The average crane and the measuring device can only weigh 20,000 kilogrammes.
“It’s safer for me to go below 20,000 kilogrammes so that my scale can carry it all at the same time and basically that is why I had to cut down on the quantity and I only cut it down by a thousand kilogrammes,” Hilda Baci said.
She claimed that the 200 bags of cooked rice still contained 4,000 kilogrammes, which would have fed 20,000 people.
Hilda Baci claimed that the 200 bags of cooked rice still contained 4,000 kilogrammes, which would have fed 20,000 people, adding that the accomplishment was the most ambitious of her career, and it required over a year of preparation.
“This 4,000 kilogrammes of rice is 200 bags of rice and it will still feed 20,000 people so we’re still up there,” Hilda said.
“Honestly, Gino and I figuring this whole thing out was hectic. Figuring out how to fabricate the pots, it took Mr. Ayo two months to figure out and fabricate the pots.
“Then it took us about nine months to plan this event and it took us almost nine hours to make the entire meal,” she revealed.
However, Guinness World Record, a London-based record body itself joined the excitement online, posting a message of encouragement with a video of the event on X ( Formerly Twitter).
It wrote, ”What’s cookin’?
“Best of luck to @hildabacicooks who’s attempting a new record for the largest serving of Nigerian style jollof rice today.”
This recognition comes only two years after Guinness certified Baci’s 2023 cook-a-thon, which brought her global fame and inspired many young Nigerians to explore the culinary industry.
Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiLx8-U0TZc
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