Lagos, Nigeria — Former Guinness World Record holder and celebrity chef Hilda Baci has embarked on another record-breaking feat, this time by cooking what may become the world’s largest pot of jollof rice.
Thousands gathered in Lagos to witness the 28-year-old food influencer’s ambitious attempt, which featured 4,000kg of rice, 500 cartons of tomato paste, and 600kg of onions prepared in a custom-made pot capable of holding 23,000 litres.
Baci, who rose to global fame in 2023 after cooking non-stop for 93 hours and 11 minutes to claim the record for the longest cooking marathon, said this latest challenge had been a year in the making.
“We are the giant of Africa, and jollof is a food that everybody knows Africans for. It makes sense if we had the biggest pot of jollof rice,” she told BBC Pidgin.
The massive steel pot used for the dish took two months to manufacture and required a 300-person culinary team to build and operate. Armed with oversized wooden spatulas, Baci and her team stirred the mammoth dish for hours before serving it to cheering onlookers.
The Guinness World Records organisation is now reviewing evidence of the attempt before confirming whether Nigeria can officially claim the world’s largest pot of jollof rice.
Jollof rice — a beloved staple across West Africa — has long been at the heart of cultural pride and friendly rivalries over who cooks it best. For Baci, the record attempt is both a culinary milestone and a celebration of Nigerian identity.
