Why I cooked 200 bags of rice instead of 250 — Hilda Baci

Celebrity chef Hilda Baci has explained why she reduced her Guinness World Record attempt for the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice from 250 bags to 200.

Baci, speaking to newsmen at the venue, said the adjustment was necessary due to technical limits of the crane and measuring scale, which could only carry 20,000 kilogrammes. She noted that the combined weight of the custom-made pot and rice would have exceeded that limit, adding that what she cooked was enough to feed 20,000 people.

Her words: “If you notice, when we started we weighed the pot and we need to weigh every single thing that goes into the pot when we’re done.

“The goal was that by the time I was done making 5,000 kilogrammes I was hoping to achieve about 17,000 to 18,000 kilogrammes. Right now, if I include the weight of the pot, that’s about 20,000.

“It’s safer for me to go below 20,000 kilogrammes so that my scale can carry it all at the same time, and basically that is why I had to cut down on the quantity, and I only cut it down by a thousand kilogrammes.

“This 4,000 kilogrammes of rice is 200 bags of rice, and it will still feed 20,000 people, so we’re still up there,” she said.

She also described the attempt as her most ambitious yet, requiring almost a year of planning.

“Honestly, Gino and I figuring this whole thing out was hectic. Figuring out how to fabricate the pots, it took Mr. Ayo two months to figure out and fabricate the pots.

“Then it took us about nine months to plan this event, and it took us almost nine hours to make the entire meal,” Baci revealed.

Speaking further, Baci said she initially saw it as an opportunity to bring people together and feed as many as possible, not as a record-breaking venture.

“I mean, have you looked around? There’s a lot of you. Some of you came with your cooler, so we need to make sure everybody’s fed.

“We’re feeding the nation,” she said.

The event drew a large crowd of food lovers, celebrities, and dignitaries, including Nollywood actress Funke Akindele, dancer Kaffy, and the First Lady of Ogun State, Bamidele Abiodun.