Nigerian celebrity chef and Guinness World Record holder, Hilda Baci, has explained why she opted to cook 200 bags of rice instead of the initially planned 250 in her bid to set a new world record for the largest serving of Nigerian-style Jollof rice.

Baci, who became a household name in 2023 after her record-breaking cook-a-thon, kicked off her latest culinary challenge at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, drawing a large crowd of food lovers, celebrities, and dignitaries.

The event, which began Friday morning, has since taken on the feel of a carnival with music, dancing, and appearances from public figures, including Nollywood actress Funke Akindele, dancer Kaffy, and the First Lady of Ogun State, Bamidele Abiodun.

Speaking to newsmen at the venue, Baci explained that her decision to scale down the rice was purely technical.

She said the measuring crane and scale designed to weigh the final dish had a limit of 20,000 kilogrammes, including the weight of the custom-made pot.

“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.

“The average crane and the measuring device can only weigh 20,000 kilogrammes.

“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,” she said.

According to her, the 200 bags cooked still amounted to 4,000 kilogrammes of rice, enough to feed 20,000 people.

“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,” Hilda said.

Baci described the feat as the most ambitious of her career, noting that it took almost a year of planning to pull off.

“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,” she revealed.

She added that despite the stress, the process had been rewarding, “It was challenging but very exciting at the same time.

“We’re not done because we need to distribute the food and make sure that everybody that has come here eats to their satisfaction.

“So we’re still on it but so far I’m very happy, you know, with where we are and what we’ve been able to achieve today,” Baci said.

Interestingly, Baci revealed that the project was not initially conceived as a Guinness World Record attempt, but about a food experience for Nigerians.

“When I came up with this idea, I did not think about it as a world record, quite frankly,” she admitted.

Rather, she framed the feat as an opportunity to bring people together and feed as many as possible.

“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.

Guinness World Record, a London-based record body itself joined the excitement online, posting a message of encouragement with a video of the event on X (formerly Twitter).

It wrote, “What’s cookin’?

“Best of luck to @hildabacicooks who’s attempting a new record for the largest serving of Nigerian style jollof rice today.”

The recognition comes just two years after Guinness certified Baci’s 2023 cook-a-thon, which brought her global fame and inspired many young Nigerians to explore the culinary industry. (Saturday PUNCH)