The queen of Nigerian cooking is back with another jaw-dropping challenge.
Celebrity chef Hilda Baci has launched her latest Guinness World Record attempt – and this time, she’s going straight for Nigeria’s most beloved dish.
Fresh off her 2023 triumph as the world’s longest cooking marathon champion, Hilda is now tackling something that hits closer to home: creating the largest pot of jollof rice the world has ever seen.
The challenge kicked off in Lagos with all the fanfare you’d expect.
But before the first grain of rice hit the pan, there was a moment that had everyone in their feelings – Hilda and her mother, heads bowed together in prayer, asking for strength and safety for the massive undertaking ahead.
The crowd was moved. Many called her mother the “backbone” of Hilda’s incredible journey, and honestly, watching them together made this feel like so much more than just another record attempt.
We’re not talking about your regular family-sized pot here. This custom-built pot has a 22,619-liter capacity and stretches nearly 6 meters across.
To put that in perspective, Hilda plans to use 250 bags of rice – enough to feed around 10,000 people.
“Yes, I can officially confirm this pot is squeaky clean!” Hilda shared on social media, showing herself personally scrubbing down the massive vessel.
“In just a few hours, this same pot will be home to thousands of servings of Nigerian Jollof history in the making.”
She’s filling it to about 80% capacity, which is still an absolutely staggering amount of food.
The support pouring in online has been incredible.
Fans are calling it a success before it’s even finished, with comments ranging from birthday wishes (someone’s claiming this as their birthday rice!) to prayers for safety and success.
Food professionals are backing her too, with organizations providing food safety support to make sure everything goes smoothly.
One fan even suggested the giant pot should end up in a museum – and honestly, they might be onto something.
Netizens have these to say:
- naija.bakers reacted: “It’s a success already. Clear skies. Congratulations Hilda 💕.”
- meetwithcounselordaisy wrote, “I’m so happy this is happening on my birthday…so everyone let’s get ready to eat my birthday rice 🙌😂❤️.”
- thefoodploy added, “Well done Hilda @fhsadvisorshq and @thefoodploy is proud to be supporting this effort with food safety and health and safety measures.”
- td_cakesandpastries penned: “This pot needs to be kept in the museum. Keep soaring higher Hils.”
- blessing___peace opined: “That was how it looked funny when she announced her cookathon. And the way she outdid herself in that cookathon, I believe she will do the same with this biggest jollof pot.”
- @bala.david2 added: “Today is your day Hilda …. I cover you with the blood of Jesus and I cancel every mistake and error…”
