Hilda Baci has added another monumental achievement to her already legendary career. The Nigerian celebrity chef has officially been recognized as a Guinness World Records Icon, an honor reserved for individuals whose achievements have inspired millions worldwide. This title adds to her growing list of accolades, which now includes three Guinness World Records.
The recognition comes after a remarkable journey that began in May 2023, when Baci first shot to global fame by cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes, breaking the record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual. At just 26 years old at the time, she became Nigeria’s first chef to hold a Guinness World Record and inspired a wave of endurance challenges across the country.
Baci’s most recent record came as a complete surprise, even to her. In September 2025, she organized a massive cookout in Lagos, preparing 8,780 kilograms of Nigerian-style jollof rice in a six-metre-wide steel pot. The event, held in partnership with food brand Gino, drew thousands of attendees and required 4,000 kilograms of basmati rice, 500 cartons of tomato concentrate, and 750 kilograms of cooking oil.
Initially, Baci believed she had secured only one record, the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice. But five months later, an email from the Guinness World Records team revealed that her feat had simultaneously broken a second record for the largest serving of rice overall. “Woke up a three-time Guinness World Records holder and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” she wrote on Instagram.
Baci’s journey from helping at her mother’s eatery in Abuja to becoming a Guinness World Records Icon has been fueled by ambition and careful planning. She graduated with a degree in Sociology from Madonna University before pivoting to a culinary career, running a successful restaurant, offering cookery classes, and building the “My Food by Hilda” brand.
The Guinness World Records Icon honor celebrates individuals whose achievements have inspired people around the world. Baci’s story, from breaking the cook-a-thon record in 2023 to her double record in 2025, has made Nigerian cuisine visible on the global stage and inspired countless young people across Africa.
“This record also belongs to the people of Nigeria,” she said after the jollof rice feat. Now, with the Icon title and three world records to her name, Hilda Baci’s legacy as a global culinary icon is firmly sealed.
