Guinness world record holder Hilda Effiong Bassey, better known as Hilda Baci, has revealed how she conceived the idea of cooking the world’s largest pot of Jollof Rice in 2025. She said, one day her boyfriend told her the cook-a-thon is not going to be the greatest thing she has ever done, at the time, it was just a cute moment and she didn’t think much of it.
During a recent interview, but the idea first sparked after she watched a video of an Indian temple on YouTube. She described seeing a massive pot where people contributed different ingredients, using a long ladder to scoop the food out.
“The idea was just there; it started marinating,” she said. ”
“One day I was in my office and I was like, ‘this office is big.’ So I imagined: what if I cook jollof rice that is as big as this office? I would like to see what it would look like.”
Despite her initial curiosity, she kept the idea to herself while she considered the logistical challenges.
