Celebrity chef, Hilda Baci, has said the giant pot used to set her Guinness World Record (GWR) for the largest jollof rice will not be auctioned or sold but preserved as a piece of history.
Baci made this known after her second Guinness World Record attempt at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, on September 12, which drew celebrities, royals, and dignitaries.
She explained that the pot had become more than cooking equipment, describing it as “a symbol of history, faith and innovation.”
“So many people have asked about that pot. Some said we should auction it. But I think that pot is a symbol of a lot of beautiful things. It is a symbol of history. It is a symbol of faith. It is a symbol of innovation,” she said.
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“Trust me, the process of putting that pot together, it is a symbol of many things and I think we agree that this is something that we want 10 years from now, 20 years from now, for people to still be able to see and point to and say that was the biggest pot of jollof rice in Nigeria.
“And in the world, not just Nigeria because it is the first time. Right now, I can tell you we are definitely not going to auction it. We are not going to sell it.”
Reflecting on her cooking journey, the 30-year-old chef said she began cooking at the age of eight but jollof rice was not her strongest recipe at the time.
She recalled struggling with it through her school years before finally perfecting her own style, which later became a bestseller in her restaurant.
Her refined recipe, she added, earned her victories in food competitions, including the famous Nigeria versus Ghana jollof face-off, and eventually led to her Guinness World Record attempt.