The Chef Who Just Cooked Up The World's Largest Bowl Of Jollof Rice

It takes a lot of planning and work to get into the Guinness World Records (GWR), but that's exactly what one chef has done. The organization officially congratulated Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda Baci (real name Hilda Bassey) into its record books for making the largest serving of jollof rice, weighing 19,356 pounds and 9 ounces ( or 9.68 U.S. tons).

On September 12, Baci partnered with food brand Gino Nigeria to attempt the feat at Eko Hotels & Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. A giant pot was custom-designed with a capacity of about 6,076 gallons specifically for the job, and it took the chef and a team of helpers nine hours to make the popular West African dish. Thousands of people congregated to watch — anticipating the feast to come.

This isn't the first time that Baci has made it into the GWR, though. She's the same Nigerian chef who set a world record after cooking for nearly 100 hours — 93 hours and 11 minutes to be precise — in 2023 in Lekki, Lagos (although that record has since been surpassed). And, getting recognition this second time around wasn't easy after the giant pot broke while the crane was lifting it to determine the weight. Fortunately, GWR was able to use camera footage and other evidence to judge the total weight. The organization officially announced the record on September 15, 2025 (via X).

As a West African staple food, jollof rice is generally made by simmering rice in a tomato sauce and pairing it with either meat or seafood. Hilda Baci won a competition in 2021 for her jollof recipe, and she put it to the test to make this record-breaking dish.

The GWR had strict rules, one of which was that the rice had to account for 80% of the dish's total weight. Because of that, Baci washed and cooked 8,818.5 pounds of basmati rice. She also added about 1,323 pounds of her signature jollof pepper blend, 485 pounds of Gino Asun and peppered chicken cubes, about 362 pounds of goat meat, and 500 cartons of tomato paste. On top of that, the cooking process used up 2645.55 pounds of gas. Another strict GWR rule was that none of the jollof rice could be wasted, so 16,600 plates were passed around afterward.

Afterward, Baci told Guinness World Records, "I didn't realize it would be this hard[,] and it has been a challenge. It's a lot of hard work but really satisfying to achieve the record. This achievement also belongs to the people of Nigeria as they all contributed."

You can make your own jollof rice with chicken, beef, or shrimp at home, too. One thing to consider is that tomato paste is essential for vibrant red jollof rice. While you could use fresh tomatoes or even blended red peppers and carrots to get a beautiful color, tomato paste has a more concentrated color while imparting rich flavor.