New Delhi: Nigerian chef, Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, has broken the current Guinness World Record for the “longest cooking marathon by an individual” after clocking 96 hours of non-stop cooking.
The current record is held by Indian chef Lata Tondon, from Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa. She won the Guinness World title for the longest time spent cooking in 2019. Chef Tondon cooked for 87 hours 45 min non-stop setting a new record becoming the first woman to achieve this milestone in the world. She remained unbeaten till Baci broke her record.
The longest cooking marathon was previously held by Rickey Lumpkin from Los Angeles, USA at 68 hours 30 minutes 01 second. Lata Tondon who was training in London as a professional chef was inspired to surpass this record and become the first Indian woman to own the international title.
The event saw Chef Lata cook more than 1,600 kg of foodgrains, 400 vada-pavs, 250 sandwiches and a host of other local delicacies over a span of four days. The food was served to over 20,000 visitors who attended the event including children from orphanages and blind schools and members of old age homes. An environmentalist at heart, Chef Lata also used this platform to encourage people to purchase and plant over 17,000 saplings.
On winning the international honour, Chef Lata said, “I have been fascinated with cooking since childhood and I am fortunate to be surrounded by family and friends who have encouraged me to turn my passion into a career. While I love cooking traditional dishes, I won’t define myself as a conservative chef. I love exploring regional flavours, and cooking techniques and finding unexplored ingredients from different parts of India. My vision is to take these hyperlocal ingredients and create dishes that change the limited perception of Indian cuisine at a global level.”
