Nigerian chef sets jollof rice world record as massive pot collapses under 20,000 pounds
Nigerian chef Hilda Baci has officially broken the world record for the largest serving of jollof rice after cooking nearly 20,000 pounds of the West African dish in Lagos.
Baci, 28, is a well-known food influencer and former Guinness World Record holder who first rose to fame in 2023 with her 93-hour cooking marathon. For this latest challenge, she and her team used 8,800 pounds of rice, 500 cartons of tomato paste, 1,320 pounds of onions, and 370 pounds of goat meat, prepared in a custom-built steel pot capable of holding 23,000 liters.
The pot itself was manufactured over two months by a team of 300 people, but during the lift to weigh the dish one of its legs gave way, causing the structure to collapse. Despite the chaos, Guinness World Records later confirmed that Baci and her partner brand Gino had achieved the record with a verified 8,780kg (19,356 lb 9 oz) of jollof rice.
Baci breaks record and massive steel pot
Clips of the pot buckling went viral on social media, showing the giant red vessel tilting but not spilling its contents. After the attempt, the record-breaking rice was divided into portions and distributed to the crowd.
Thousands gathered to witness the attempt, which took a year of planning and the help of 10 chefs constantly cooking for roughly nine hours.
Speaking afterward, Baci explained her motivation: “We are the giant of Africa, and jollof is a food that everybody knows Africans for. It would make sense if we had the biggest pot of jollof rice, it would be nice for the country.”
Baci first became a national sensation after winning a jollof rice competition in 2021 and later setting the cooking marathon record. While she has since been surpassed in that category, this new achievement has cemented her place once again on the global stage.
