Chef Gbolabo Adebakin, widely known as Captain Gibbs, has offered fresh insight into the extensive planning that went into Hilda Baci’s Guinness World Record cook-a-thon, revealing that the team spent about a week preparing for the marathon.
Speaking during an interview with NairametricsTV titled The Chef Who Wants to Standardise Nigeria’s Food Industry, Adebakin described the operation as a large-scale project that extended well beyond the days of cooking.
According to him, preparations for Baci’s first record attempt in May 2023 began long before the cooking commenced, with the team handling menu development, logistics, staff coordination and compliance with Guinness World Records requirements.
While the cooking marathon lasted more than 90 hours, Adebakin said the support team worked continuously for about a week to ensure everything ran smoothly.
He explained that the volume of meals planned over several days made the exercise significantly more demanding than a typical catering event, requiring detailed preparation before the challenge officially began.
Adebakin also disclosed that he had initially booked accommodation near the venue with the intention of getting some rest during the event. However, after the first day, he abandoned the plan and remained on-site until the cook-a-thon ended.
Reflecting on Baci’s second record attempt, he said the operation became even more demanding, with separate large-scale setups dedicated to food preparation and meal distribution.
He noted that the planning process started with designing a menu that aligned with Guinness World Records guidelines while staying true to Baci’s vision of showcasing Nigerian cuisine.
The team also evaluated cooking durations, ingredient preservation, storage requirements and meal rotation to ensure compliance with the competition’s rules.
Beyond food preparation, Adebakin said organisers developed detailed schedules covering procurement, recipes, staff welfare and operational safety throughout the marathon.
He added that suppliers, including farmers, vendors and market operators, remained on standby to provide fresh ingredients whenever needed.
Hilda Baci set the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual in May 2023 after cooking continuously for 93 hours and 11 minutes in Lagos, surpassing the previous record and drawing international attention to Nigerian cuisine.
