13/09/2025
Hilda Baci: From the Heat of the Kitchen to the Fire of History
The clatter of pots and the hiss of boiling oil were once just the background music of a small Lagos kitchen. A young woman in her apron, hair tied back, sleeves rolled up, dreamed of something bigger than the plates she served.
Her name? Hilda Bassey Effiong, known to millions simply as Hilda Baci
Cooking wasn’t just survival for her; it was art, a language, a way of writing her name into the world. But the world wasn’t listening yet.
In May 2023, there was a heat in Lagos that felt different. It wasn’t just the sun; it was something bigger, something alive. Hilda was about to step into history.
She stepped into a kitchen on Thursday, May 11, 2023, determined to cook non-stop, day and night, for what she hoped might be 100 hours; a marathon of pots, passion, and pure will.
She had a goal: beat the record of 87 hours 45 minutes held by Lata Tondon of India, not for fame alone, but to put Nigerian cuisine on the map, to show young women that hunger for more is not shameful, but powerful.
When the final hour came, she had cooked over 100 pots of food, prepared 35 different items from a menu she crafted ahead of time, fed thousands, donated leftovers to the less privileged, all while balancing breaks by the strict rules of Guinness. Her time: 93 hours, 11 minutes. The world watched. Nigerians cheered. She cried when the certificate came.
“This is for all my team members… I said I wanted to be a record holder and now I am."
Her cook-athon crashed more than just appetites: it crashed websites. Her social media streams froze under the weight of millions tuned in. State governors visited. Celebrities showed up. And in one loving, trembling moment, she held up that officially-sealed record and let the tears fall for all who helped, for all who believed.
But champions don’t stop at one peak. For Hilda Baci, one record was never an end, it was fuel.
Fast forward to Yesterday, and there she stood again, heart full, hands ready, in front of a six-by-six-meter pot. At Eko Hotel, Lagos, over 20,000 people had registered, supporters gathered, the pot arrived, so big you could see it from afar. She was preparing to cook the world’s largest pot of Nigerian jollof rice; 250 bags of rice, a cultural festival, a communal moment.
Before flames kissed the pot, she and her mother prayed together: strength, endurance, protection. She rolled up her sleeves, washed the giant vessel herself, and stood knowing this is not just about food, it’s about identity. Music will play, stories will be told, but the taste oh, the taste, will linger in our memory.
Because we need reminders sometimes that dreams are not fragile just because they are fierce. That women who cook all night are also women who can move a nation. That heritage tastes like spices and steam, sauce and soul. Hilda Baci is that reminder.
From a small kitchen in Lagos to the pages of the world’s records, Hilda’s journey is proof that dreams served with courage can feed the soul of a nation.
So here’s to you, Hilda Baci, the woman who turned pots into podiums, recipes into records, and hunger into hope. Nigeria is proud of you. The world is applauding. And the story isn’t over yet.
Your story is a banquet of bravery, and we are full.
May your fire never dim. May your next record be even more radiant not because records matter, but because your heart does.
Congratulations, Queen of the Kitchen.
© Prince, Samuel Emenike (Mr. Noble)
