After a long night of anticipation, tension filled the air when Chef Hilda Baci’s gigantic jollof rice pot was finally ready to be weighed.
As a caterpillar lifted the towering cauldron, it squeezed on one side, forcing its cover loose and drawing gasps from the restless crowd this morning, reports Channels TV.
A further attempt with a blue lifting sling strap bent the pot’s legs, prompting Hilda’s team to wave frantically for the caterpillar operator to stop.
The scene left the 28-year-old chef visibly distressed as she circled the pot shortly, watching anxiously while officials worked to stabilise the weighing process.
Feeding The Waiting Crowd
•Chef Hilda transfers Jollof rice from her large pot to coolers
Moments later, they packed the cooked rice into coolers and served it in plastic takeaways to the crowd who had waited patiently through the night.
Some guests, weary from the long hours, lay on the floor while clinging to hopes of tasting the record-breaking jollof dish.
Earlier, Hilda explained delays in serving were due to the rice needing time to cook evenly, given the scale of the massive pot.
The free event tagged, ‘Gino World Jollof Festival with Hilda Baci,’ had kicked off yesterday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, with over 20,000 participants registered.
Crowd control was a challenge from the start, as fans scrambled for space inside the venue, which buzzed with music, dance, and celebrity appearances.
Behind The ‘Giant’ Pot
Chef Hilda revealed that the six-metre-wide custom pot was fabricated in Southwest Nigeria over three months, and it holds 22,619 litres.
Initially, she said she planned to use 5,000 kilogrammes of basmati rice but scaled it down to 4,000 kilogrammes, or 200 bags, due to weighing limits.
The organisers said they expect the final serving to yield between 14,000 and 16,000 kilogrammes of jollof rice, enough to feed tens of thousands.
She revealed that they would also add turkey bits, turkey stock, and horse meat to the pot while they carefully calculated the spices and tomato paste to retain the authentic Nigerian flavour.
In the aftermath of the cooking, she revealed that attempting this record was “challenging and very exciting at the same time.”
“Figuring this whole thing was hectic, it took two months thinking about how to fabricate the pot. It took us about nine months to plan this event.
“It took us almost 9 hours to make the sauce and the entire meal,” adding that when she came up with the idea, “I didn’t think of it as a world record, quite frankly.”
As of 4:30 am today, people were still being served Hilda’s Jollof rice.
Support, Goodwill From GWR
Nollywood star Funke Akindele drew cheers as she joined Baci on stage, praising her resilience and urging young women to embrace hard work.
TikTok star Peller, influencer Enioluwa Adeoluwa, Tomike Adeoye, and Afrobeats star Spyro were also present at the record attempt.
Other notable faces included Kaffy and Ogun State First Lady Bamidele Abiodun, who stirred the pot alongside Baci.
Even Guinness World Records sent its support on X, posting: “Best of luck to Hilda Baci, who’s attempting a new record for the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice today [Friday].”
2023 Attempt
Baci rose to fame in May 2023 after completing a 100-hour cooking marathon, a feat that crashed the Guinness World Records website due to traffic.
She hopes her latest challenge will once again place Nigerian cuisine on the global map, despite the hiccups at the weigh-in.
For Baci, the dream remains clear: to carve her name into history with the biggest pot of Nigerian jollof ever made.
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