Amidst the daily recurring stories of sadness and sorrow, political shenanigans, judicial rascality, youth crimes, and desperation of Nigerians to japa came a sliver of hope when 26-year-old Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, pushed Nigeria positively onto the world stage. Hilda is a Nigerian chef, restaurateur and actress who believes in Nigeria.
She hung on despite the many obstacles around breaking the four-year record of marathon cooking held by Lata Tondon, an Indian chef who set the record of 87 hours and 45 minutes of uninterrupted cooking in 2019.
By cooking non-stop for 100 hours and 40 minutes, she joined the elite holders of the Guinness World Record in what she termed Cook-a-thon, coined from the word marathon. Instead of japaing, she will now be hosted in various countries and would be dignified with red carpet receptions.
This recent feat is not the first time Hilda will be making her name ring out in the chef business. She had, in August 2021, won the maiden Jollof Faceoff competition, taking home the grand prize of $5,000 in the process.
. Gimba is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Neptune Prime.
