Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda Baci, fresh off her 2023 Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon, has adjusted her ambitious attempt to prepare the world's largest pot of Nigerian-style jollof rice, reducing it from 250 to 200 bags due to equipment limits, while still aiming to serve up to 20,000 people at a festive gathering in Lagos.

The event, sponsored by seasoning brand Gino and held at Eko Hotels and Suites after a venue switch from Muri Okunola Park to handle over 20,000 registrations, kicked off Friday morning with a carnival vibe—live music, dancing, and star appearances from Nollywood's Funke Akindele, dancer Kaffy, and Ogun State First Lady Bamidele Abiodun.

Baci, 28, framed the challenge not initially as a record pursuit but as a communal feast: "When I came up with this idea, I did not think about it as a world record... We’re feeding the nation." Speaking to reporters amid the aroma of simmering spices, Baci explained the technical tweak: the custom 6-meter-wide, 6-meter-tall pot, weighing in at several tons, plus ingredients, risked exceeding the 20,000-kilogram capacity of the crane and scale needed for Guinness verification. "The average crane and the measuring device can only weigh 20,000 kilogrammes... It’s safer for me to go below 20,000 kilogrammes so that my scale can carry it all at the same time," she said, opting for 4,000 kilograms of rice from 200 bags—still a feat to feed 20,000 and eclipse prior records like Ghana's 2022 effort with 1,100 bags.

The nine-month planning marathon, including two months to fabricate the pot with engineer Mr. Ayo, culminated in nearly nine hours of cooking a "robust and very expensive pot of Gino Asun-Jollof rice." Baci called it her most demanding project yet—"challenging but very exciting"—with distribution ongoing to ensure all attendees, many arriving with coolers, leave satisfied.

Guinness World Records amplified the buzz on X, posting: "What’s cookin’? Best of luck to @hildabacicooks who’s attempting a new record for the largest serving of Nigerian style jollof rice today." Adjudicators were on site to measure and verify, building on Baci's 2023 triumph that inspired a surge in young Nigerian chefs.