Hilda Baci Breaks Jollof Rice World Record in Nigeria

Record-Breaking Achievement Gets Official Nod

Guinness World Records confirmed the feat Monday on X (formerly Twitter), posting: “New record: Largest serving of Nigerian style jollof rice, 8,780 kg (19,356 lb 9 oz) achieved by Hilda Baci and Gino in Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.”

Baci, who shot to fame with her marathon cook-a-thon last year, appears to have struck gold again. This time, she’s putting Nigerian cuisine back in the spotlight, though one has to wonder if world records are becoming her signature move.

The Logistics Behind the Spectacle

Here’s where things get interesting. Baci used a specially designed pot that could hold 22,619 litres for this attempt. Originally, she planned to fill it to 80 percent capacity, which would’ve needed roughly 5,278 kilogrammes of raw basmati rice, that’s about 264 bags.

But plans don’t always survive reality. Equipment limitations forced her to scale back. “The measuring crane and scale designed to weigh the final dish had a limit of 20,000 kilogrammes, including the weight of the custom-made pot,” Baci told reporters Friday.

She ended up using 200 bags instead. Still impressive? Absolutely. The final result was 4,000 kilogrammes of cooked rice, enough to feed 20,000 people, though one might question whether anyone actually got to eat it given the logistics involved.

When Cooking Becomes Entertainment

The event turned into something between a cooking show and a street festival. Music blared, people danced, and celebrities showed up in droves.

Nollywood actress Funke Akindele didn’t just pose for photos, she actually got her hands dirty, stirring the tomato base alongside Baci. Bamidele Abiodun, Ogun State’s First Lady, also made an appearance, lending some political star power to the mix.

The celebrity guest list read like a who’s who of Nigerian entertainment: dancer Kaffy, Tomike Adeoye, Enioluwa, Peller, Veekee James, Femi Atere, Tacha, Papaya, Samuel Banks, Alex Unusual, Folagbade Banks, and Spyro. Whether they all stayed for the entire cooking process is another question entirely.

What This Says About Nigerian Food Culture

Baci’s latest stunt likely adds another layer to her role as an unofficial ambassador for Nigerian cuisine. Guinness World Records had cheered her on during the attempt, posting: “What’s cookin’? Best of luck to @hildabacicooks who’s attempting a new record for the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice today.”

The success may signal growing international interest in Nigerian jollof rice, or it could just be that people love a good spectacle. Either way, Lagos is starting to look like a go-to destination for ambitious food records, which isn’t exactly what city planners probably had in mind when thinking about tourism strategies.