Food

Celebrity Chef Sets World Record With Massive Pot Of Rice

A pot of rice so big it broke while being weighed — twice!

Just under 20,000 pounds of jollof rice. That's how much celebrity chef Hilda Baci prepared last Friday on her way to breaking a Guinness World Record for cooking the largest ever pot of jollof rice.

To be precise, the pot of the popular West African delicacy made from rice cooked in a pepper sauce that the Nigerian chef prepared contained 8,780 kilograms of the dish, or 19,356 pounds.

Guinness World Records took to social media on Monday to confirm the chef's achievement, stating that she had surpassed the old record of 4,700 kilograms of rice.

“It took nine hours of fire, passion, and teamwork,” Baci said. The giant heap of rice was served to hundreds of enthusiastic onlookers who had come to cheer the chef on at Nigeria's luxurious Victoria Island.

The daylong event was not without its drama. As the giant pot that Baci's team used to make the dish was being hoisted onto a crane in order to be weighed, it broke. Luckily, none of the rice spilled.

Baci's recipe for the crowning jollof dish included 500 cartons of tomato paste, 1,322 pounds of onions and 370 pounds of goat meat.

"This Guinness World Record was built on unity, love, and collective strength," Baci wrote on social media afterward, thanking the "tireless team" of 10 other chefs who assisted her in the project.

"We made history together, for Nigeria, for Africa, and for everyone who believes in the power of food to bring us closer - this win is yours too."

Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel’s newsletter.