Chef Hilda Baci cooked up such a storm she became a Guinness World Records ICON
GWR titles aren’t purely about kudos. While it’s fantastic to know that you’re a record breaker, there’s often more to the achievement than meets the eye. Often, such feats speak volumes about a person’s attitude to life, their sense of self-belief, motivation and ambition. Such is the case with GWR ICON Hilda Baci.
This inspirational Nigerian restaurateur began her culinary career while she was still at primary school, helping out at her mother’s restaurant in Abuja. “I always got so many tips because I used to memorize the whole menu and I was very sharp-mouthed!” she remembers. She studied sociology at college, after which she explored various possible careers, hosting Nigerian TV’s Dine on a Budget and acting. But the call of the cooker proved too strong: she became a professional chef in 2020 and went on to launch her restaurant Hilda’s Kitchen (now known as My Food by Hilda). She shared recipes and tips online, building up a dynamic social media presence that won her millions of followers.
When GWR asked her about the most important lessons that her career as a chef has taught her, Hilda replied with three timeless tips for living well: “Consistency beats talent. Systems beat hustle. And humility keeps you growing.”
In 2023, this singular chef and internet sensation undertook the longest cooking marathon, cheered on by thousands of onlookers in Lekki, Lagos. She remained kitchen-bound for an exhausting 93 hr 11 min between 11 and 15 May, with her stamina-sapping efforts also live-streamed to hordes of fans in Nigeria and the wider world. So great was the demand for updates on her progress that Hilda’s loyal admirers crashed GWR’s website! Although this highly competitive record has been broken twice since then (the current holder is Liberian-Australian chef Evette Quoibia, with a time of 140 hr 11 min), Hilda had decisively made her mark.
Her epic “cook-a-thon” ushered in a wave of enthusiasm for record breaking in Nigeria: within two months, GWR had received upwards of 1,500 new applications from the country. So what practical advice would she offer to someone who is attempting an endurance record? “Preparation is everything. Passion alone is not enough,” she insists. “You need physical training, mental conditioning, a strong support team, proper documentation, and absolute clarity on the guidelines. Study the rules carefully and respect the process.” And crucially, “understand your ‘why’. When exhaustion hits – and it will – your reason has to be stronger than the discomfort.”
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She had to be on top of her game for her next GWR challenge too. On 12 September 2025, Hilda and brand Gino Nigeria teamed up to create the largest serving of rice – 8,780 kg (19,356 lb 9 oz) – in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria. An incredible 4,000 kg (8,820 lb) of basmati rice, 164 kg (361 lb 8 oz) of fresh goat meat and some 600 kg (1,322 lb) of Hilda’s own jollof pepper mix went into the record-breaking dish, which was so heavy that it buckled its colossal bespoke steel pot – twice! And not a grain went to waste: more than 16,600 portions were shared out afterwards. An exultant Hilda summed up the experience as “nine hours of fire, passion and teamwork”.
The dish in question was jollof rice – a West African staple – giving Hilda’s record a special resonance within her own country. “I love rice,” she told us. “Truly. I could eat rice dishes every single day for a year and not get tired of it. There’s something incredibly versatile and comforting about rice – it carries so many flavours beautifully. Being from Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, I also deeply love Afang soup. It’s a traditional soup made with wild spinach and richly seasoned meats and seafood. I enjoy it most with fufu – a smooth, dough-like staple made from cassava… It’s one of those dishes I love both cooking and eating. It tastes like home.”
Credit: Sunday Alamba/Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
What next for this charismatic record breaker? As you might expect, Hilda is always looking ahead, open to taking on fresh challenges and expanding her horizons. As a super-sharp businesswoman, one of her key goals is to expand My Food by Hilda, first across Nigeria and then across the world – to the UK, the USA, Dubai, South Africa and even further afield, “as a cultural ambassador for Nigerian food done right”.
And while she’s not ruling out more record attempts in the future, Hilda insists that they have to be done for the right reasons. “For me, records are not just about endurance – they are about meaning. If I ever attempt another record, it would need to align with a larger purpose: impact, innovation, or cultural representation.” She’s the first to admit that she’s humbled by the wave of record breaking that her feats and profile have inspired. But she sees those achievements as part of a bigger picture, a way of encouraging others to realize their own dreams and ambitions. “If my journey gave someone else the courage to attempt something bold, then that means more to me than the title itself,” she told us. “Records can be broken – that’s their nature. But inspiration, the ripple effect of belief, is what truly lasts.” Spoken like a true GWR ICON.
