The Nigerian Hilda Effiong Bassey, 27, has just spent 100 hours in a row cooking in public and it is a world record that Guinness is in the process of approving. Last Thursday, she set up her kitchen in the heart of Lagos, and at 4 p.m. sharp, she began her “cookathon”, a culinary marathon during which she cooked 55 different recipes and more than 100 dishes.
A unique performance which since Monday has made her the darling of social networks, the phenomenon that all the upper crust of Nigeria, singers, actors, politicians have come to see, joining hundreds of anonymous people installed in front of her ephemeral kitchen to film her, the encourage, dance, play music, in short, do everything so that she doesn’t give up.
Because Hilda Baci said it herself: after the first six hours, she almost gave up. Too difficult, too intense. Her attention dwindling, her concentration becoming shorter and shorter, she only allowed herself a short five-minute break every hour to stretch and possibly sit down. After 88 hours, the crowd explodes with joy: everyone understands that it has just exceeded the previous record, held since 2019 by Indian leader Lata Tondon. The latter then sends him a message of encouragement on Instagram.
Promoting Nigeria, its gastronomy, its culture
Initially, Hilda Baci was aiming for 96 hours, but her brother told her that 100 is much more symbolic. So she pushed on until Monday evening and put down her last dish at 8 p.m., exhausted. Exhausted, she simply explained to reporters that she had done this “to talk about Nigeria, of its gastronomy, its culture, its youth”. Indeed, the chef points out what the INA has already noted for France: in our country, information concerning Africa represents only 5% of all that is mentioned in our television news.
Airtime which, moreover, is generally devoted to wars, terrorism, epidemics, famine, migrations. Hilda Baci wanted to change the story, to impose something positive. And she succeeded: her portrait goes around the world, the BBC talks about her pasta, CNN about her crispy akaras, and Deutsche Welle about her jollof rice. And we finally understand that there is more than just a record.