Nigerian celebrity chef, Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, has described the collapse of the cooking pot during her Guinness World Record jollof rice attempt as a blessing in disguise.

The incident happened on September 12, 2025, at the World Jollof Festival in Lagos, where Baci and her team prepared nearly 8,780 kilograms of rice in a custom-built pot with a capacity of about 23,000 litres.

In a video interview shared by HipTV on X, the 30-year-old restaurateur admitted the experience initially left her shaken.

“When we had the mishap with the pot, my first few seconds, my heart was in my hands. I was very scared, very worried,” she said.

Baci explained that while the scare was real, her priority was not the record itself but ensuring the food was served.

“For me, the record was not the most important thing. It was important that people got to taste and enjoy the food we had spent hours making,” she added.

The pot caved in as a crane attempted to lift it for weighing, causing its supporting legs to give way.
Despite the collapse, the rice remained intact. Reflecting on the moment, she noted, “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.”

Her team later submitted video and photographic evidence of the weighing process to Guinness World Records, which confirmed her as the official record holder for the largest pot of jollof rice cooked at one time.

Baci, who first rose to global fame in 2023 after cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes to set the record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, said the latest achievement was another testimony of God’s grace in her life.