During an eight-hour open cooking session at Eko Hotels and Suites, VI, Lagos, famous Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda ‘Baci’ Bassey on Saturday completed her ‘World Record attempt for the largest pot of jollof rice.
With more than five tonnes of rice, tomato concentrate, cooking oil, and onions, the 28-year-old chef seeks to clinch the title for the biggest jollof dish ever made.
Baci said she poured 4,000 kilogrammes of basmati rice, 500 cartons of tomato concentrate, 750 kilogrammes of oil, and 600 kilogrammes of onions into a six-metre-wide steel cauldron.
According to the Akwa Ibom-born chef, she said that although she initially planned to cook 250 bags of rice, she later cut it to 200 bags to stay within the 20,000-kilogramme weight limit.
“It was safer to keep it below the scale’s capacity. Reducing by 1,000 kilogrammes still gave us enough to feed 20,000 people,” she explained.
The spectacle drew thousands, with 20,000 people officially registered for the free event tagged “Gino World Jollof Festival With Hilda Baci.”
There was palpable tension when the gigantic pot was lifted for weighing.
As a crane hoisted the pot, its cover slipped loose and the legs bent slightly, prompting Hilda’s team to halt a second attempt amid gasps from the crowd.
The visibly anxious chef circled the pot as her team worked to stabilise the structure.
The moment raised concerns among the crowd that something had gone wrong with the cooked jollof rice.
But by dawn, it was eventually packed into coolers and served in takeaway packs.
Onlookers, some exhausted from the all-night wait, cheered as they finally tasted the record-breaking meal.
