Hilda Baci opens up about pot collapse during Jollof record

Hilda Baci has reflected on a tense moment during her successful Guinness World Record attempt for cooking the largest pot of jollof rice, after the custom-made giant pot unexpectedly collapsed.

In a video shared on X on Tuesday by HipTV, chef Hilda Baci admitted the scare nearly overwhelmed her during the interview. “When we had the mishap with the pot, my first few seconds, my heart was in my hands. I was very scared, very worried,” she said.

Baci noted that what mattered most to her in that moment was serving the food rather than the record itself.

“For me, the record was not the most important thing. It was important that people got to taste and enjoy the food we had spent hours making,” she said, adding that the pot’s collapse unexpectedly helped.

“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.”

The dramatic incident occurred on September 12 at the World Jollof Festival in Lagos, where Baci and her team prepared nearly 8,780 kilograms (about 19,356 pounds) of jollof rice in a pot measuring six meters wide and tall with a capacity of about 23,000 litres.