Longest cooking marathon (individual)
Who
Alan Fisher
What
119:57:16 hour(s):minute(s):second(s)
Where
Japan (Matsue)
When
Age Restriction: Applications for this record title will only be accepted if the applicant is 16 years of age or over.

The longest cooking marathon (individual) is 119 hr 57 min 16 sec and was achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from 28 September to 3 October 2023.

He attempted this record just over a day after completing the world’s longest baking marathon with a time of 47 hr 21 min.

Alan is the owner and head chef of Kyojin Stewhouse, an Irish restaurant in the Japanese city of Matsue.

He decided to break both the baking and cooking marathon records to promote Irish cuisine and culture.

The previous “cook-a-thon” record holder was Nigeria’s Hilda Baci, who achieved a time of 93 hr 11 min.

As with all ‘longest marathon’ records, each hour of activity completed earns the participant five minutes of rest time, which can be accumulated if not used immediately. Only during these breaks can the participant eat, sleep, or use the bathroom.

Alan endured sleepiness and extreme fatigue towards the end of his record attempt. He said: “I peeled roughly 300 kg of potatoes during the cooking marathon. For the first few days, I would look forward to this each evening as it gave me a chance to sit down.

“Towards the end of the cooking marathon, however, as fatigue started to take hold, I would find it more and more difficult to stay awake whenever I sat down to start peeling.

“The rhythm of the peeling would almost hypnotize me. I had one hallucination on the second-to-last day: I turned to ask someone to pass me something, like I would on any normal day, only to realize there was no one there."

Using 32 different recipes, Alan cooked 3,360 portions of food, weighing a total of 590 kg. During his baking marathon, he made 357 kg worth of soda bread.

Each dish was put into containers and handed out to visitors after being cooked.

After completing both record attempts, Alan said: “Records are made to be broken, but for today at least, I can hold both simultaneously. So many sleepless nights, early mornings, anxieties and financial stress to keep the business alive. Just head down and persevere.

“Breaking these records is a fitting way to share our story and create a little awareness about the Irish connection here in Matsue.”

Read more about Alan's record-breaking cook-a-thon