Hilda Baci Biography: Age, Education, Early Life, Career and Guinness World Records

Hilda Baci is a Nigerian chef, restaurateur and television host whose record-setting cooking has brought international attention to Nigerian cuisine. She first became widely known in 2023, when Guinness World Records confirmed her 93-hour, 11-minute cooking marathon. Two years later, she returned to the record books with a team achievement: preparing the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice.

Hilda Baci’s path to global recognition began well before those events. Her early experience helping at her mother’s restaurant, her sociology degree and her work in food and television all contributed to a career that combines cooking, entrepreneurship and media.

Hilda Baci Profile

Full name: Hilda Effiong Bassey
Known professionally as: Hilda Baci
Date of birth: 20 September 1995
Nationality: Nigerian
State of origin: Akwa Ibom State
Education: Sociology degree from Madonna University
Professions: Chef, restaurateur and television host
Business: My Food by Hilda
Known for: Guinness World Records cooking achievements

Hilda Baci Early life and family influence

Hilda Effiong Bassey popularly known as Hilda Baci was born on 20 September 1995 and is from Nsit Ubium Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. When she was five, she moved with her family to Abuja.

Cooking was part of Hilda Baci’s childhood. After school, she helped her mother at the family restaurant, gaining an early look at the work involved in preparing meals and serving customers. Her mother was a major influence: Hilda Baci has said that her mother trained her and her siblings to cook.

That hands-on experience gave her a practical introduction to food long before she became a professional chef. It also helped shape the approach she later brought to her food business: cooking familiar dishes, sharing recipes and making food part of a broader community experience.

Hilda Baci Education and culinary training

Hilda Baci studied sociology at Madonna University in Okija, Anambra State. Her university degree was not in culinary arts, but she later pursued culinary education and developed her professional cooking skills through training and practice.

Her route into food was therefore not a straight path from culinary school to restaurant work. It grew from family experience, practical learning and a decision to focus more fully on cooking and building a food business.

Hilda Baci Early career

Before her Guinness record attempt, Baci was already developing a public profile through food and media. She hosted Dine on a Budget, a television programme on Pop Central TV that centered on affordable cooking.

She also founded My Food by Hilda, a food business offering Nigerian and other African dishes. Guinness World Records notes that the venture was first known as Hilda’s Kitchen and that Hilda Baci became a professional chef in 2020. Her restaurant and delivery work helped establish a career beyond television appearances and social media.

In August 2021, Baci won the Jollof Faceoff competition, further raising her profile as a chef. The event was a cooking contest centered on jollof rice, one of West Africa’s most recognizable dishes. The win came before the cook-a-thon made her a household name.

Hilda Baci has also spoken about having experience in acting and presenting. She described choosing to focus more on food and the business side of her career, while remaining capable of working in television and media.

The 2023 Guinness World Record cook-a-thon

In March 2023, Baci announced that she planned to attempt the record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual. She began the challenge in Lagos on 11 May, aiming first for 96 hours and later extending the goal to 100 hours.

The attempt involved cooking continuously while following Guinness World Records’ rules for breaks. Under the rules for marathon records, participants may take five minutes of rest for every continuous hour of activity and can accumulate those breaks. Baci prepared more than 100 pots of food over the four-day event, with ingredients replenished as needed.

On 15 May, she passed the previous record, which had been held by Indian chef Lata Tondon. The attempt attracted a large audience in person and online. Public figures, musicians and government officials visited or sent messages of support, while crowds gathered to cheer her on.

Guinness World Records reviewed the evidence after the event and confirmed Hilda Baci’s official time as 93 hours and 11 minutes. The total was shorter than her 100-hour target because nearly seven hours were deducted after an early rest break exceeded the permitted time.

The cook-a-thon became a major cultural moment in Nigeria. It brought more attention to Nigerian food and inspired a wider wave of record attempts across the country and elsewhere in Africa.

When Hilda Baci’s cooking-marathon record was surpassed

Hilda Baci’s longest cooking marathon record did not remain unbroken. In November 2023, Irish chef Alan Fisher surpassed it with a time of 119 hours and 57 minutes. Fisher also set a record for the longest baking marathon.

Hilda Baci congratulated Fisher and recognized the difficulty of the achievement. Although she no longer holds the longest cooking marathon title, her 2023 attempt remains important: it helped make cook-a-thons a widely watched event and introduced millions of viewers to her work and Nigerian cuisine. Guinness World Records has since reported that other chefs have set longer cooking-marathon records.

The 2025 world record for Nigerian-style jollof rice

On 12 September 2025, Hilda Baci and Nigerian food brand Gino cooked 8,780 kilograms of Nigerian-style jollof rice at an event in Victoria Island, Lagos. Guinness World Records confirmed the achievement as the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice.

The record attempt was a team operation on a huge scale. Guinness rules required rice to make up at least 80 percent of the total weight and specified a minimum set of ingredients, including long-grain rice, tomatoes, tomato paste, oil, onion, seasoning and spices. The final serving weighed 8,780 kilograms, or more than 19,000 pounds.

The rice was cooked in a specially made pot over roughly nine hours, with a large team helping to prepare and stir the dish. The pot collapsed while being lifted by a crane during the weighing process, creating a dramatic moment at the event. The record was still verified, and Guinness reported that more than 16,600 portions were distributed after cooking and to local communities.

Jollof rice is popular across West Africa, and the achievement also drew attention to the region’s friendly “jollof debate” about national versions of the dish. Hilda Baci described the record as a shared achievement for Nigerians, crediting the team and the public support around the event.

Hilda Baci Public discussion and controversies

Hilda Baci’s public profile has largely centered on food, business and record attempts. The main debates around her record events have focused on the practical and social questions raised by large-scale food challenges.

The cost and scale of record attempts

The 2025 jollof event required a custom pot, a large team, fuel, ingredients and extensive logistics. Its scale prompted public discussion about the resources involved and how a record-setting quantity of food would be handled. Guinness World Records reported that the portions were distributed after cooking and to local communities.

These questions are not allegations of misconduct; they are broader debates about the cost, sustainability and public benefit of spectacular record attempts. In Hilda Baci’s case, the event’s food-distribution plan was part of the record’s stated requirements.

Clarifying the 2023 cook-a-thon time

Early reports during the 2023 cook-a-thon described Baci as having surpassed the former record and public celebrations began before Guinness completed its review. The official adjudicated result was 93 hours and 11 minutes, not the 100 hours she had hoped to reach. Guinness explained that it deducted time for an overlong break.

This distinction matters when summarizing her achievements: the 100 hours was her target, while 93 hours and 11 minutes was the verified record.

Hilda Baci’s impact on Nigerian food culture

Hilda Baci’s records have helped introduce Nigerian dishes to audiences far beyond the country. The 2023 cook-a-thon highlighted a broad range of Nigerian cooking, while the 2025 jollof record focused attention on one dish with deep cultural significance across West Africa.

Her profile also reflects the way food careers now combine restaurant work, television, digital audiences, brand partnerships and live events. Hilda Baci’s record attempts are highly visible, but her culinary career also includes the less theatrical work of developing recipes, operating a food business and communicating with audiences through media.

Frequently asked questions about Hilda Baci

How old is Hilda Baci?

Hilda Baci was born on 20 September 1995. She is 31 years old as of 24 September 2026.

What is Hilda Baci’s real name?

Her full name is Hilda Effiong Bassey. She is professionally known as Hilda Baci.

What did Hilda Baci study?

She studied sociology at Madonna University in Okija, Anambra State. She later pursued culinary education and developed her career as a chef.

What was Hilda Baci’s 2023 Guinness World Record?

Guinness World Records confirmed that she cooked for 93 hours and 11 minutes in May 2023, setting the record at that time for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

Does Hilda Baci still hold the longest cooking-marathon record?

No. Her 2023 record was later surpassed by other chefs, including Alan Fisher, who cooked for 119 hours and 57 minutes in 2023.

What Guinness World Record did Hilda Baci set in 2025?

In partnership with Gino, Hilda Baci achieved the record for the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice. The serving weighed 8,780 kilograms and was cooked in Lagos on 12 September 2025.

What is My Food by Hilda?

My Food by Hilda is Baci’s food business, which offers Nigerian and other African dishes. It was previously known as Hilda’s Kitchen.

Conclusion

Hilda Baci’s career grew from early experience in her mother’s restaurant into professional cooking, television and food entrepreneurship. Her 2023 cook-a-thon made her internationally known, and her 2025 jollof rice achievement placed her back in the Guinness World Records.

Her story is about more than endurance challenges. It is also about building a food business, bringing Nigerian cuisine to a global audience and turning major public events into celebrations of food and community.