After a long night of anticipation, tension filled the air when Chef Hilda Baci’s gigantic jollof rice pot was finally ready to be weighed.
As a crane lifted the towering cauldron, it squeezed on one side, forcing its cover loose and drawing gasps from the restless crowd on Saturday morning.
A further attempt with a blue lifting sling strap bent the pot’s legs, prompting Hilda’s team to wave frantically for the crane operator to stop.
The scene left the 28-year-old chef visibly distressed as she circled the pot shortly, watching anxiously while officials worked to stabilise the weighing process.
Feeding The Waiting Crowd
Chef Hilda transfers Jollof rice from her large pot to coolers
Moments later, they packed the cooked rice into coolers and served it in plastic takeaways to the patient crowd.
Some guests, tired from waiting, lay on the floor while hoping to taste the record-breaking jollof dish.
Earlier, Hilda explained delays were because the rice needed time to cook evenly due to the massive pot’s size.
The free ‘Gino World Jollof Festival with Hilda Baci’ began Friday at Eko Hotel with 20,000+ registered attendees.
Crowd control was tough as fans scrambled for space amid music, dancing, and celebrity appearances inside the buzzing venue.
Behind The ‘Giant’ Pot
Hilda Baci in bid for the largest pot of Jollof rice
Chef Hilda revealed the six-metre-wide custom pot was made in Southwest Nigeria over three months and holds 22,619 litres.
She initially planned to use five thousand kilogrammes of basmati rice, but reduced it to four thousand due to weighing limits.
The organisers said they expect the final serving to yield between 14,000 and 16,000 kilogrammes of jollof rice, enough to feed tens of thousands.
She revealed that they would also add turkey bits, turkey stock, and horse meat to the pot while they carefully calculated the spices and tomato paste to retain the authentic Nigerian flavour.
In the aftermath of the cooking, she revealed that attempting this record was “challenging and very exciting at the same time.”
“Figuring this whole thing was hectic, it took two months thinking about how to fabricate the pot. It took us about nine months to plan this event.
“It took us almost 9 hours to make the sauce and the entire meal,” adding that when she came up with the idea, “I didn’t think of it as a world record, quite frankly.”
As of 4:30 am on Saturday, people were still being served Hilda’s Jollof rice.
Support, Goodwill From GWR
Nollywood star Funke Akindele drew cheers as she joined Baci on stage, praising her resilience and urging young women to embrace hard work.
TikTok star Peller, influencer Enioluwa Adeoluwa, Tomike Adeoye, and Afrobeats star Spyro were also present at the record attempt.
Other notable faces included Kaffy and Ogun State First Lady Bamidele Abiodun, who stirred the pot alongside Baci.
Even Guinness World Records sent its support on X, posting: “Best of luck to Hilda Baci, who’s attempting a new record for the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice today [Friday].”
2023 Attempt
Baci rose to fame in May 2023 after completing a 100-hour cooking marathon, a feat that crashed the Guinness World Records website due to traffic.
She hopes her latest challenge will once again place Nigerian cuisine on the global map, despite the hiccups at the weigh-in.
For Baci, the dream remains clear: to carve her name into history with the biggest pot of Nigerian jollof ever made.
See more photos of her attempt at the ‘world record for the largest pot of Jollof rice’
