Celebrity chef Hilda Baci has reflected on a dramatic moment when her giant pot of jollof rice collapsed during her Guinness World Record attempt.
In a video shared on X by HipTV on Tuesday, Baci explained that the custom-made pot unexpectedly caved in while being lifted for weighing, leaving her frightened at first.
“When we had the mishap with the pot, in my first few seconds, my heart was in my hands. I was very scared, very worried,” she said.
However, she noted that the incident turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it made food distribution easier and ensured her team could serve enough jollof rice to the crowd.
“For me, the record was not the most important thing. People needed to get to taste and enjoy the food we had spent hours making.
“I would say it was a good thing that the pot caved because it made food distribution a lot easier… it was a blessing in disguise”, she said.
During the record attempt on September 12, 2025, at the World Jollof Festival in Lagos, Baci’s team prepared nearly 8,780 kilograms of jollof rice in a pot measuring six meters wide and tall with a capacity of about 23,000 liters.
According to Baci, despite the initial scare, she prioritised food distribution, ensuring that people got to taste and enjoy the food her team had spent hours making.
Baci emphasised the importance of transparency during the record attempt, working closely with the adjudicator to document the process properly after the pot’s collapse.
“So I reached out to our adjudicator, and I let him know that the pot caved… And he’s like, let’s just proceed…we had to look for different cameras to see if we had a recording, a clear recording of that, because for me, transparency is very, very important.
“So once we were able to establish that we had a clear recording of that, it was just straight to the next thing, like to distribute the food.”
Guinness World Records later confirmed her as the official record-holder for the largest pot of jollof rice cooked at one time.
Baci attributed her success to her faith, stating, “It’s just a testament that God is good and I’m a child of grace. When I tell you grace is here and you doubt me, look at my track record. Trust the Lord”.
This achievement adds to Baci’s earlier record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual in May 2023, after she cooked for 93 hours and 11 minutes.
