Nigeria’s celebrated chef and culinary star, Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, has once again captured the national spotlight with an audacious bid to cook the world’s largest pot of jollof rice.
The attempt took place on Friday at the Gino Jollof Festival hosted at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, drawing tens of thousands of enthusiastic spectators.
The festival, organised as a celebration of West Africa’s most iconic dish, featured a custom-built pot measuring six metres wide and six metres tall, large enough to tower over the crowd gathered to watch history being made.
Into this mammoth vessel, Baci and her team poured in 250 bags of rice, turning the venue into a culinary arena where culture, food, and record-breaking ambition met.
With thousands of eyes fixed on her every move, Baci personally oversaw the preparation process. Before cooking began, she washed and sanitised the giant pot herself, reassuring the audience that the record-breaking rice would be both safe and delicious.
“It’s going to be very hygienic and amazing,” she promised, winning cheers from the crowd.
The festival grounds buzzed with excitement, with the organisers confirming that more than 20,000 guests registered for the free-entry event. Families, food enthusiasts, influencers, and dignitaries poured into Eko Hotel to witness what many described as a once-in-a-lifetime culinary feat.
The day began with prayers from Pastor Bolaji Idowu, who invoked blessings for Baci’s success. The atmosphere was further electrified by the presence of social media personalities Enioluwa Adeoluwa and Tomike Adeoye, both of whom lent their voices to the celebration. Adeoye, who anchored the festival, kept the crowd engaged as giant screens beamed live images of the cooking spectacle.
For Baci, this record attempt was more than just another culinary challenge. It was the next chapter in a story that began with her Guinness World Record cook-a-thon in May 2023. At that event, held at Amore Gardens in Lekki, Lagos, she cooked non-stop for four days, preparing more than 100 dishes on a 35-item menu.
The cook-a-thon instantly became a cultural phenomenon, drawing both national pride and international attention. Guinness World Records later confirmed her achievement at 93 hours and 11 minutes, cementing her name in history.
Before the cook-a-thon, Baci was already a rising star in Nigeria’s culinary scene. In 2021, she won the Jollof Face-Off competition, where she showcased her mastery of the dish that is at the heart of countless debates between Nigeria, Ghana, and other West African nations. Her cooking show, Dine on a Budget, further revealed her passion for making Nigerian food accessible and celebrated.
However, Baci’s Guinness cook-a-thon record did not last unchallenged. In November 2023, Irish chef Alan Fisher set a new benchmark, cooking for 119 hours and 57 minutes in Japan. The dethronement only sharpened Baci’s resolve to continue pushing culinary boundaries.
The Friday’s jollof record attempt is widely seen as her comeback project, a move to reaffirm her place on the global culinary map.
Jollof rice is far more than just a meal in West Africa — it is a symbol of identity, pride, and rivalry. Debates over which country makes the best jollof, Nigeria, Ghana, or Senegal have raged for decades, sometimes light-hearted, sometimes heated.
By choosing to attempt the world’s largest pot of jollof, Baci tapped directly into this cultural symbolism.
“This is about more than records. It is about Nigeria showing the world the soul of our food,” said one guest at the festival.
On social media, hashtags like #HildaBaci and #JollofFestival quickly began trending. Videos of the massive pot circulated widely, sparking admiration and curiosity.
“This is Lagos at its best, celebrating food, music, and our culture with the world watching,” one attendee remarked.
As of press time, verification of the record attempt is yet to be confirmed by Guinness World Records, which will require documentation and inspection. However, regardless of the official outcome, the event has already achieved its goal — to unite people around food, culture, and national pride.
For Hilda Baci, the journey from sociology graduate to global culinary ambassador has been one marked by perseverance, innovation, and an unyielding belief in the power of Nigerian cuisine. From her failed auditions for Big Brother Naija to the global acclaim of her cook-a-thon and now to the giant jollof challenge, her career reflects the power of determination to turn setbacks into milestones.
Whether or not Guinness recognises this feat as a new record, Friday’s spectacle has already carved a place in history. Hilda Baci has once again stirred not just rice, but also the hearts of millions, reaffirming that jollof is more than food. It is a story of resilience, community, and pride.
