Nigerian celebrity chef and restaurateur, Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, has spoken about a frightening incident that occurred during her latest Guinness World Record attempt.
Scary moment during Guinness World Record attempt
At the World Jollof Festival in Lagos on September 12, 2025, Hilda and her team cooked nearly 8,780 kilograms of jollof rice in a giant six-metre-wide pot with a capacity of 23,000 litres.
The event drew massive attention as thousands gathered to witness the ambitious feat.
However, as a crane lifted the specially constructed pot for weighing, one side gave way and the supporting legs collapsed, nearly ruining the effort. Though the food remained intact, the sudden mishap left the team shaken.
In a video interview shared by HipTV, Baci recalled the tense moment, saying, “When we had the mishap with the pot, my first few seconds, my heart was in my hands. I was very scared, very worried.”
Despite the scare, Baci explained that her priority was not the record itself, but ensuring people could taste the food. She said the collapse, though unexpected, ultimately helped them distribute the jollof more easily.
“For me, the record was not the most important thing. It was important that people got to taste and enjoy the food we had spent hours making,” she explained.
“I would say it was a good thing that the pot caved because it made food distribution a lot easier… it was a blessing in disguise.”
Her team quickly submitted video and photographic evidence of the weighing process to Guinness World Records, which later confirmed her as the official record-holder for the largest pot of jollof rice cooked at one time.
A testament of grace and resilience
Reflecting further, Baci revealed how she worked closely with the adjudicator to ensure transparency throughout the process. “So I reached out to our adjudicator, and I let him know that the pot caved… And he’s like, let’s just proceed…we had to look for different cameras to see if we had a clear recording of that, because for me, transparency is very, very important.”
Once they confirmed proper documentation, the team went ahead with distribution, serving thousands at the festival grounds.
This achievement makes Hilda Baci a two-time Guinness World Record holder. In May 2023, she became the world record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, after cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes.
She described her latest success as proof of divine grace, saying: “It’s just a testament that God is good and I’m a child of grace. When I tell you grace is here and you doubt me, look at my track record. Trust the Lord.”
Watch the video below…
‘My heart was in my hands when the pot broke 😳… but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise’ — Hilda Baci on her Guinness World Record moment pic.twitter.com/apRmz7Q7ba
— HipTv (@HipTv) September 23, 2025
