“You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support.”
—Sabrina Bryan
By Omoniyi Salaudeen
This week, Nigeria’s spirit of oneness came alive again. Not necessarily inspired by the infectious excitement and enthusiasm that often follow the triumph of the nation’s football team or other athletes for that matter in any world championship competition, but by the extraordinary passion, which a multi-talented Nigerian Chef, Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, brought into her cooking flair, breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon.
She snatched the laurel from the current champion, Lata Tondon, who spent 87 hours, 45 minutes, and 00 seconds cooking in Rewa, India, in 2019. In March 2023, Hilda announced she would be attempting the record for the longest cooking marathon.
She ventured into the race with her cook-a-thon on May 1, featuring a live-streamed show on multiple social media channels where she made over 100 Nigerian recipes. On Monday, May 15, 2022, at exactly 7:45 a.m, she broke the record for the longest cooking marathon by any individual hitting 87 hours 50 minutes- 5 minutes above the previous record holder in 2019.
To set a new record for the longest cooking marathon, Hilda had originally set to cook for 96 hours, but later extended her goal to a 100-hour cooking marathon.
For doing Nigeria proud, her success story has continued to resonate with a standing ovation across the length and breadth of the country. With the feat, she has wittingly or unwittingly aroused the consciousness of one Nigeria from all walks of life.
Her indomitable spirit inspired the high and the mighty, young and old, to stand up for the celebration of her championship. In doing so, she has brought a soothing relief to the tense political atmosphere in the country. Customary to the do-or-die attitude of the state actors, the fragile fabric that bound the disparate entities had just been fractured by the outcome of the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections which gave victory to Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect and Senator Kashim Shettima as vice president-elect.
But her cook-a-thon success story brought unity back to Nigeria, turning people’s attention away from hard-core political discourse, at least momentarily, and injected something positive, something fresher, and something inspiring into the already polluted atmosphere of hatred and bickering.
The significance of this feat cannot be overemphasized, especially in this season of an election when the political arena is filled with social media frenzy, bullying, and intimidation. With her successive adventurism, Hilda has reignited the spirit of unity, bringing together people from across tribal boundaries to celebrate one Nigeria.
High-profile Nigerians who visited Hilda at Amore Gardens, Lekki, where she did the cooking to give her the necessary moral support included, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Nigerian award-winning singer, Tiwa Savage, and Ice Prince. Those who could not show their physical presence like Vice President Yemi Osinbajo put a call through to give their words of encouragement, while others keep trending her name on social media.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, lauded the young culinary expert for turning her talent and passion into a career, with a rippling effect on the economy as she runs a restaurant in Lagos, and training other talents on entrepreneurship, and now leads the world in resilience, perseverance, and consistency in cooking.
The president noted that Hilda’s drive and ambition had brought more interest and insight into the uniqueness of Nigerian food, as another cultural icon, with huge tourism benefits, hoping that more young people would follow in her footsteps.
Since the record-breaking event, her fortune has skyrocketed. Already, brands have been identifying with her by giving her various gifts from physical products to free travel tickets and so on. Even her mother is getting some gifts too.
In a recent interview after her victory, Hilda said she was going to expand her restaurant, and that she was already in the process of opening up to investors to come in and franchise for other countries because she is trying to create jobs. She was quoted as saying, “I am nowhere close to where I want to be with this business, but I intend to keep putting in the work to get there.”
Success, they say, has many families, but failure is an orphan. In retrospect, the height Hilda has reached in her calling is not by a sudden flight. While others were sleeping and snoring, she was busy planning the way to actualize her dream.
Though her road was not paved with gold, she kept an eye on the goal. At some points in her life, media reports confirmed, she had passed through some dark moments, but remained undeterred. She founded her business, @myfoodbyhilda when she was in her worst time. But through the dint of hard work and perseverance, she was able to find her true self during those times.
According to an account of her journey to stardom, the stunning Chef had tried a couple of times since the very first time she set her eyes on making an appearance in the global arena for the cooking competition, but without much success.
Nevertheless, she never got tired or discouraged. Instead, she focused her energies on building her passion for the job. And ultimately, her resilient spirit, sheer determination, inexhaustible perseverance, and toughness won her the laurel.
She had to go through a fitness journey to test her endurance. Over 100 recipes, 80 per cent Nigerian were developed by Hilda and her team.
To be sure, Hilda’s involvement in the competition was strictly self-sponsored. No dime from the government was invested in her cooking adventure. But her fame has put Nigeria in the global spotlight.
Getting a place on the Guinness Book of Records is no mean feat. The passion, the excitement and the conviction with which Hilda practices her calling should serve as an inspiration for other young talented individuals.
It is particularly more instructive for those who might have found themselves at a crossroads in pursuit of their dreams. Sometimes, what is needed to get going is just a bit of inspiration and passion as Hilda has shown. To succeed as you dream big, don’t be afraid of the challenges, the missteps, and the setbacks along the way. What matters is what keeps you going. That is the big lesson from Hilda’s story.
Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, was born on September 20, 1996, to Mr and Mrs Effiong Bassey in Akwa Ibom State. She is a multi-talented Nigerian chef, host, TV producer, and entrepreneur who started her journey from grass to grace.
She attended Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State where she studied Sociology. She started her career as a chef in 2020 without anyone, but today, she has built a name for herself and a brand.
She’s currently the Chef head and CEO of @Myfoodbyhilda. At the time she began the business, she had only one location, but currently, she has several locations and branches all over the country.