Hilda Baci is a Nigerian chef, restaurateur, television personality and actress who became internationally famous after breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual in 2023.
Born Hilda Effiong Bassey, she turned her childhood interest in cooking into a professional culinary career and built a strong public profile through food content, television and entrepreneurship.
Although she later lost the longest cooking marathon record, Hilda returned to the Guinness World Records list in 2025 after setting a new record for the largest quantity of jollof rice cooked at once.
Her journey has made her one of Nigeria’s best-known contemporary culinary personalities.
Who is Hilda Baci?
Hilda Baci, whose real name is Hilda Effiong Bassey, is a Nigerian chef and restaurateur from Akwa Ibom State.
She is also known for her work as an actress and television host. Her rise to international fame came in May 2023 when she undertook a cooking marathon that lasted several days.
Guinness World Records eventually certified her official cooking time at 93 hours and 11 minutes, making her the record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual at the time.
Hilda’s career, however, goes beyond the cook-a-thon. She had already been developing a food business and television career before the record attempt.
She also won the Jollof Faceoff competition in 2021 and has continued to promote Nigerian food through her culinary businesses and public appearances.
Quick Facts
- Full Name: Hilda Effiong Bassey
- Stage Name: Hilda Baci
- Date of Birth: September 20, 1995
- Current Age: 30 years old
- Place of Birth: Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
- Local Government Area (LGA): Nsit Ubium Local Government Area
- State of Origin: Akwa Ibom State
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Tribe/Ethnicity: Not publicly established in reliable sources
- Occupation: Chef, restaurateur, actress and television personality
- Years Active: 2020–present as a professional chef
- Religion: Not publicly disclosed
- Marital Status: Not publicly disclosed
- Known For: Guinness World Records cooking achievements
Her date of birth and Nsit Ubium origin are documented by Wikipedia, while Guinness World Records describes her as a Nigerian chef and restaurateur from Akwa Ibom.
Early Life and Education
Hilda Baci was born on September 20, 1995, and is from Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
When she was five years old, her family moved to Abuja. It was there that her interest in cooking developed further because she regularly helped her mother at the family restaurant after school.
Her mother, Lynda Ndukwe, is also a chef and played an important role in Hilda’s early exposure to cooking.
Rather than discovering the kitchen only as an adult, Hilda grew up around food preparation and restaurant operations.
Guinness World Records has also described her as someone who began helping at her mother’s restaurant while she was still in primary school.
Hilda later attended Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State, where she studied Sociology and obtained a degree.
Her university education was not specifically in culinary arts, but she continued developing her interest in cooking alongside her academic studies.
After university, she further pursued culinary education and began turning her long-standing interest in food into a professional career.
Information about Hilda Baci’s siblings and some other aspects of her childhood family life has not been consistently documented by reliable public sources, so those details cannot be confirmed.
Career
Hilda Baci’s professional career developed across food, television and entertainment before she became a household name through her Guinness World Record attempt.
She worked in the food industry and later moved into television, where her knowledge of food became an important part of her on-screen identity.
She hosted Dine on a Budget, a television programme aired on Pop Central TV, giving her an opportunity to combine entertainment, food and conversations with guests.
According to Guinness World Records, Hilda became a professional chef in 2020. That same period was important for her entrepreneurial journey as she developed her food brand.
Her food business, now associated with My Food by Hilda, grew from the meals she prepared for customers and the food content she shared online.
During the COVID-19 period, she used online platforms to reach more customers and build an audience around her cooking.
Before her international breakthrough, Hilda had also gained recognition by competing in the Jollof Faceoff competition, which she won in August 2021. The victory further established her reputation as a talented Nigerian cook.
The 2023 Cook-a-thon
Hilda’s biggest career breakthrough came in 2023 when she announced her intention to break the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.
The previous record belonged to Indian chef Lata Tondon, who had cooked for 87 hours and 45 minutes in 2019. Hilda began her own cook-a-thon on May 11, 2023, in Lagos.
She initially planned to cook for 96 hours but later extended the target to 100 hours. Nigerians followed the event closely, with celebrities, politicians and thousands of supporters visiting or publicly cheering her on.
After Guinness World Records reviewed the evidence from the attempt, it confirmed Hilda’s official record time as 93 hours and 11 minutes.
Guinness noted that some time was deducted because of an issue involving one of her rest breaks.
The achievement transformed Hilda Baci from a successful Nigerian food entrepreneur into an international celebrity.
Cooking Marathon Record
Hilda’s record did not remain unbroken for long. In November 2023, Irish chef Alan Fisher surpassed her record after cooking for 119 hours and 57 minutes.
Hilda subsequently congratulated Fisher and expressed pride in seeing another chef break the record.
Losing the title did not end Hilda’s relationship with Guinness World Records. Instead, she would later return with another major culinary achievement.
Second Guinness World Record
On September 12, 2025, Hilda Baci participated in the World Jollof Festival in Lagos and cooked an enormous quantity of asun jollof rice.
She produced 8,780 kilograms of jollof rice during the nine-hour cooking session. Guinness World Records later confirmed the achievement as the largest quantity of jollof rice cooked at once.
This achievement gave Hilda another Guinness World Record and reinforced her reputation for using Nigerian cuisine as a platform for international recognition.
Movies
Although Hilda Baci is primarily known as a chef and entrepreneur, she has also appeared in Nigerian film productions.
Her documented filmography includes:
- Dreamchaser (2020) — played Rihanna
- A Walk on Water (2021) — played Annie
- Mr & Mrs Robert (2023) — played Hilda
Her acting work is one of the reasons she is sometimes described as a multi-talented entertainer rather than solely a culinary personality.
Awards and Recognition
Hilda Baci has received recognition for both her culinary achievements and her influence as a young Nigerian entrepreneur.
One of her notable awards came at The Future Awards Africa 2023, where she won Young Person of the Year.
The official awards organisation listed Hilda as the winner of the category at the 17th edition of the awards.
Some of her major achievements include:
- Jollof Faceoff Competition winner — 2021
- Guinness World Record for longest cooking marathon by an individual — 2023
- The Future Awards Africa Young Person of the Year — 2023
- Guinness World Record for the largest quantity of jollof rice cooked at once — 2025
Her 2023 cooking record also became a cultural moment in Nigeria, with her achievement inspiring other people across Africa to attempt endurance-based world records.
Personal Life
Hilda Baci generally keeps many details about her private life away from the public spotlight. Her professional achievements, businesses and cooking projects are much better documented than her relationships and family life.
There is no reliable public information confirming that she is married or has children. Details about a current husband, wife or confirmed spouse have therefore not been established from the sources used for this biography.
Similarly, information about her romantic relationships has appeared in entertainment reports over the years, but such reports should not be treated as confirmed personal facts unless Hilda herself or another reliable source has publicly verified them.
What is clear from her public career is that cooking, entrepreneurship and entertainment have remained central to her lifestyle.
She has built a public identity around Nigerian food and has used social media and television to connect her culinary work with a wider audience.
Net Worth
Hilda Baci’s exact net worth has not been publicly verified. Various entertainment and biography websites have published different estimates of her wealth, but these figures are not based on publicly audited financial records.
Because of this, quoting a specific dollar amount as her confirmed net worth would be misleading.
Her sources of income are associated with her work as a chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, television personality, brand personality and content creator.
Her food businesses and the commercial opportunities created by her international recognition have also contributed to her public profile.
Therefore, the safest conclusion is that Hilda Baci’s actual net worth is not publicly known. Any figure published online should be regarded as an estimate rather than an officially confirmed amount.