Hilda Baci reflects on rice pot collapse as “blessing in disguise” ’cos it made serving easier
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Master chef Hilda Baci says, on reflection, the collapse of her jollof rice giant pot during her attempt at a second Guinness World Records (GWR) title was a “blessing in disguise” because it made serving the food easier, even though she was initially frightened.
The custom-made pot unexpectedly caved in while being lifted for weighing at the event at Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos on September 12.
“When we had the mishap with the pot, in my first few seconds, my heart was in my hands. I was very scared, very worried,” Hilda narrated in a video shared on X by HipTV.
“For me, the record was not the most important thing. People needed to get to taste and enjoy the food we had spent hours making.
“I would say it was a good thing that the pot caved because it made food distribution a lot easier… it was a blessing in disguise”
At the World Jollof Festival, Hilda and her team prepared nearly 8,780 kilograms of jollof rice in a pot measuring six metres wide and high with capacity for 23,000 litres.
Hilda said despite the initial scare, she prioritised food distribution, ensuring that more people (than the original anticipated 20,000 crowd) got to taste and enjoy the meal.
She stressed the importance of transparency during the record attempt, working closely with the adjudicator to document the process properly after the pot collapsed.
“So I reached out to our adjudicator, and I let him know that the pot caved .… And he’s like, ‘let’s just proceed .…’ We had to look for different cameras to see if we had a recording, a clear recording of that, because for me, transparency is very, very important.
“So once we were able to establish that we had a clear recording of that, it was just straight to the next thing, like to distribute the food.”
Hilda attributed her success to her faith in God.
“It’s just a testament that God is good and I’m a child of grace. When I tell you grace is here and you doubt me, look at my track record. Trust the Lord.”
GWR later confirmed her as the official record-holder for the largest pot of jollof rice cooked at one time.
It adds to her first record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual in May 2023, after she cooked for 93 hours and 11 minutes, also on Victoria Island, Lagos.
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