By Charles Mgbolu
On May 11, 2023, Nigerian chef Hilda Baci held her fans across the globe spellbound when she embarked on a cooking marathon to break the world record for the longest cooking time by an individual.
Hilda, 26, achieved this four days later when her timer hit 100 hours, although this was later revised downward by the Guinness World Record to be 93 hours and 11 minutes.
Baci record-breaking restaurer cooked over 200 different meals served to over 4,000 spectators at the venue. She was only allowed to take 5 minutes of rest every hour.
This was grueling work, and it poses the question: How did she prepare herself to do this?
Hilda’s personal trainer, Ekemini Ekerette, known professionally as Kemem, says they had worked hard to get her physically and mentally ready for the challenge but the marathon came with a lot of anxiety.
‘’What makes this so remarkable and significant is that she was not the person who constantly trained in the gym, and so this was so new to her. We had to teach her everything - how to run on the treadmill, how to do the different workouts,’’ he told TRT Afrika.
Pains, fears
‘’We did a lot of core and lower body exercises like squats and sit-ups; it was intense. We had to let her know that if she wasn’t physically prepared, she may not be able to last the distance,’’ Ekerette adds.
The challenge was certainly daunting because to be crowned the new record holder, Hilda had to overtake the jaw-dropping record set by Late Tondon, an Indian chef who cooked for 87 hours and 45 minutes non-stop in 2019.
By the second day, the fatigue had become serious as Hilda struggled to stay on her feet and cook.
Kemem recalls watching Hilda in the cooking marathon with bated breath from a vantage point as she stretched her painful waist and legs and was ready to pounce in the case of an emergency. There was constant fear that she would give up at any moment, he says.
’'We had fears every night, all those four nights; that was the most worrying moment. Getting her through the night till morning,’’ Kemem said.
He continued: ‘’We had fears as her back started aching, and we knew that we couldn’t do much for her back because any medication would send her to sleep and the challenge would be over. She had times when her legs wanted to fail because she stood for too long. It was really scary.’’
The joy
Kemem said Hilda’s fighting spirit pulled her through difficult moments where he couldn’t directly intervene. ‘’We had worked on her legs, so they were pretty strong ahead of the challenge.''
on June 14, 2023, Guinness World Record officially announced Hilda Baci had joined the prestigious list of global citizens who have done amazing feats.
Another young Nigerian, Damilola Adeparus, has now vowed to break Hilda's record in a month. Hilda has sent her words of support.
The Guinness Book of Records is a reference book that contains exceptional human and natural world records.
First published in 1955, it is one of the world’s best-known and most frequently read reference books.
Individuals or groups must submit proof to the Guinness World Records team and go through a verification process to qualify for a world record listing.
‘’I am super proud of Hilda, and I feel privileged to be a part of this journey,’’ fitness trainer Kemem said.
