President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded Nigerian chef, Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, for surpassing the current Guinness World Record for the longest cooking time.

Buhari said Hilda Baci’s drive and ambition to surpass the record have brought more interest and insight into the uniqueness of Nigerian food, “as another cultural icon, with huge tourism benefits, and more young people will follow in her footsteps.”

The 27-year-old restaurateur, who set up a four-day ‘cook-a-thon’ at Amore Gardens in the Lekki area of Lagos State on Thursday, May 11, hit 87 hours 50 minutes to surpass the Guinness World Record on Monday, May 15.

The current record for the world’s longest cooking marathon is held by Lata Tondon who completed the task in 87 hours, 45 minutes, and 00 secs in Rewa, India, in 2019.

Speaking on the development via a statement issued on Monday by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, President Buhari said Hilda Baci placed Nigeria on the global spotlight by breaking the world record for the longest hours of cooking.

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The President also lauded the young culinary expert for turning her talent and passion into a career, “with a rippling effect on the economy as she runs a restaurant in Lagos, and trains other talents on entrepreneurship, and now leads the world in resilience, perseverance, and consistency in cooking.”

Buhari acknowledged that the antecedents of the restaurateur, who dazzled at the Jollof Face-off Competition in 2021, preparing mouth-watering dishes that won the choice prize, and settled an age-long rivalry with Ghana on which African country should own the trademark for cooking better jollof- rice.

He, therefore, thanked the sponsors of Hilda Baci’s ‘cook-a-thon’, government officials, including Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, celebrities, and fans of the chef for all the support that has brought glory to the country.

The Star