I almost gave up six times – Hilda Baci speaks on challenges faced during cooking marathon
Hilda Baci, the Nigerian chef, has opened up about the challenges she faced while attempting to set a new world record in the cooking marathon.
On May 11, Baci embarked on a four-day journey to break the Guinness World Records (GWR) for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.
The Nigerian would later achieve the feat, surpassing the 87 hours 45 minutes record set by Lata Tondon, the Indian chef, in 2019.
After breaking Tondon’s cooking record, the Akwa Ibom-born chef went a step further by setting a new record of 100 hours.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Hilda said “my body failed me many times”. She also revealed that she cried to God for strength.
The 27-year-old entrepreneur said she wanted to give up at least six times.
Baci said she, however, remained strong due to the inspiration from Nigerians who became part of the journey “in difficult times”.
She also appreciated everyone who supported her during the cooking journey.
“At the beginning when I started the attempt. I would say the first was the hardest day. I almost gave up at least six times. And as time went on, my family, my friends, my followers, and just the general public that came became part of the dream, the journey,” she said.
“Even when I wanted to give up and I saw how invested people were, it dawned on me that I wasn’t doing this for just myself but at that moment, it was more about the people that were there. And I could not have finished those 100 hours without these people.
“I could not have said oh I have done 100 hours, so I have to thank them. I have to talk to them. Because it is important to me that they know how their support, impact, and presence both online and offline helped me get through those hours and difficult times.
“I would say I drew a lot of strength from God because my body did fail me. My body failed me so many times.
“And every single time that my body failed me, especially on the first day, I cried to God and begged God.”
The GWR said it will review all the evidence first before officially confirming the record set by Baci.