A dramatic world record attempt in Lagos ended in chaos when the giant pot used by Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda Baci to cook the world’s largest jollof rice buckled under its own weight. Thousands of spectators turned out on Sunday to witness the food influencer, who briefly held the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest cooking marathon in 2023, try to etch her name in the record books once again. Baci’s recipe was monumental: 4,000kg (8,800lbs) of rice, 500 cartons of tomato paste, 600kg of onions, and 168kg of goat meat, all simmered in a custom-made pot capable of holding 23,000 litres. Manufacturing the steel vessel took a team of 300 workers two months to complete.
After nine hours of cooking, the dish was ready. But as engineers tried to hoist the pot onto a crane to weigh it, one of the supporting legs gave way. The vessel buckled on one side, though the food inside remained intact. Despite two failed weighing attempts, Baci’s team told the BBC they were compiling camera evidence to submit to GWR for official consideration. The setback didn’t dampen spirits. The steaming mountain of jollof rice was divided into portions and handed out to the massive crowd. Social media was abuzz with videos of the moment the pot collapsed, while #HildaBaci trended across Nigeria and beyond.
Speaking afterwards, the 28-year-old chef said the attempt was about more than records “We Nigerians are the giant of Africa, and jollof is a food that everybody knows Africans for. It makes sense for us to have the biggest pot of jollof rice. It would be nice for the country.” Baci, assisted by 10 chefs wielding oversized wooden spoons, spent over a year planning the challenge. She previously became a household name in 2023 after cooking non-stop for 93 hours and 11 minutes, a feat later surpassed by Irish chef Alan Fisher. The current marathon cooking record belongs to Australia’s Evette Quoibia, who cooked for 140 hours and 11 minutes. For now, the record for the world’s largest jollof rice remains unclaimed—but the attempt has further cemented Baci’s reputation as Nigeria’s queen of the kitchen and a symbol of national pride.
