Hilda Baci’s Giant Jollof Pot Breaks During World Record Attempt

The giant pot in which Nigerian chef and former Guinness World Record holder Hilda Baci attempted to cook the world’s largest jollof rice dish has broken while being lifted on a crane to be weighed.

Thousands of people gathered in Lagos on Friday, September 12, 2025 at the Muri Okunola Park in Lagos to witness the record attempt by the 28-year-old food influencer, who first became famous in 2023 after holding the title for the longest cooking marathon.

Her recipe for the mega jollof rice included 4,000kg (8,800lb) of rice, 500 cartons of tomato paste, 600kg of onions, and 168kg of goat meat. All of this was cooked inside a specially made pot designed to hold 23,000 litres. The cooking process lasted nine hours.

However, the weighing process proved difficult. Despite two separate attempts, the pot could not be successfully weighed. Videos circulating on social media show the moment when one side of the giant red pot buckled as it was lifted, causing the supporting legs to collapse. Luckily, the food itself did not spill.

A member of Baci’s team told the BBC that they were gathering video and photographic evidence from multiple cameras to present to Guinness World Records (GWR) for official recognition. GWR had earlier wished her luck in a tweet before the event.

After the collapse, the massive pot of jollof was shared among the huge crowd that had gathered, with portions distributed freely.

Baci explained to BBC Pidgin that she had spent a year preparing for the challenge.
“We [Nigerians] are the giant of Africa, and jollof is a food that everybody knows Africans for,” she said.
“It would make sense if we had the biggest pot of jollof rice, it would be nice for the country.”

She was assisted by 10 chefs dressed in red uniforms, who stirred the dish with long wooden spoons throughout the nine-hour cooking.

The giant steel pot itself was a special project. It took 300 workers two months to build the custom vessel, but unfortunately one of its legs gave way at the crucial moment of weighing.

Jollof rice, a beloved dish across West Africa, is made with rice simmered in a tomato-based sauce and often paired with meat or seafood.

Baci is no stranger to cooking challenges. She won a competition for her jollof rice in 2021 and shot to fame in 2023 after cooking non-stop for 93 hours and 11 minutes, earning the world record for longest cooking marathon. She later lost the title to Irish chef Alan Fisher, before it was claimed by Australia’s Evette Quoibia, who holds the current record at 140 hours and 11 minutes.