Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda Baci has announced her latest ambitious project—an attempt to cook the world’s largest pot of jollof rice in Lagos. The Guinness World Record attempt will take place on 12 September at Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island.
Baci first revealed her plans on Instagram in August, explaining that the project had been two years in the making. She described it as not just a culinary challenge, but also a cultural celebration that would showcase Nigerian food, music, and community spirit.
According to her, the custom-made cooking pot measures six metres across, with a depth ranging between 1.1 and 1.3 metres, and has a total volume of 22,619 litres. Baci said her goal is to fill it up to at least 75 to 80 per cent capacity.
Breaking down the quantities needed, she revealed that the pot will require about 264.20 kilograms of rice. However, she plans to cook with 250 bags using Gino products. To balance the flavors, she calculated that she would need 1,583 kilograms of tomato paste. The mix will include Gino tomato paste, Gino pepper chicken paste, and Gino Patsy jollof paste.
She also listed other ingredients such as garlic, ginger, fresh thyme, rosemary, curry, and additional spices to ensure the dish is as flavorful as it is massive.
“This is more than just food,” Baci said, calling the event the fulfillment of a long-held dream. She emphasized that it will serve as a festival, uniting Nigerians through food and culture while creating history.
Baci is no stranger to Guinness World Records. In June 2023, she earned global recognition after completing a cooking marathon that lasted over four days. Though she aimed for 100 hours, her final record stood at 93 hours and 11 minutes due to a minor error identified by Guinness World Records. That achievement surpassed the previous record of 87 hours and 45 minutes set in 2019 by Indian chef Lata Tondon.
Her reign, however, was short-lived. Later in 2023, Irish chef Alan Fisher broke her record after cooking for 119 hours and 57 minutes, extending the benchmark by over 24 hours.
Now, with her planned jollof rice cook-off, Baci is seeking to reclaim global attention while celebrating Nigeria’s most famous dish on an extraordinary scale.
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