Clear your calendars: September 12, 2025 is no ordinary Saturday in Lagos. It’s the day Hilda Baci, the chef who turned cooking into a global headline in 2023 is set to fire up the largest pot of jollof rice the world has ever seen.
We’re talking epic scale. A custom-made pot that’s six metres wide and tall. Over 5,000 kilos of rice. Nearly 1,600 kilos of tomato paste. Flames big enough to power a street carnival. This is a record attempt, a festival, and a cultural showdown all stirred into one steaming pot.
Here’s the thing about stunts this massive: they can go either way. Either the rice comes out golden, fluffy, and glorious or the pot becomes an oversized cautionary tale. The tension is real. Will the pot hold? Can the rice cook evenly? And, most importantly, what happens to all that food after the cameras stop rolling?
Baci knows the questions. That’s why she’s been teasing out ingredient lists, pot specs, and dry-run details on social. She’s betting that the more she shows her prep, the more we’ll believe she can pull this off.
Why jollof, why now?
Because nothing unites and divides West Africa like jollof. Nigerians swear theirs is the best. Ghanaians clap back with equal passion. Senegal quietly reminds everyone they invented it. And on and on the debate goes.
By cooking it on this scale, Baci isn’t just chasing a record but she’s planting a flag. This is Nigerian jollof, amplified, celebrated, and broadcast to the world.
The attempt is the headline act of the Gino World Jollof Festival at Muri Okunola Park. Expect DJs, celebrities, food vendors, and thousands of fans vibing around the pot. Think less “cookout in grandma’s backyard” and more “Coachella with palm oil and Maggi cubes.”
Sponsors are on board. Media crews are already circling. And Lagos, a city that knows how to turn anything into a party, is ready to dance around the fire.
The pressure on Hilda
Hilda isn’t new to pressure. Her 2023 cook-a-thon had her on her feet for days, winning her Guinness recognition and global headlines. That’s why people are giving her the benefit of the doubt now. She’s proven she can outlast, out-plan, and out-cook expectations.
But this? This is bigger. Literally. One mistake and thousands of kilos of rice could turn into one giant, sticky disaster.
The moment
Here’s the truth: record or no record, success or flop, the attempt is already history. It’s a story about ambition, about food as identity, and about how one woman has managed to turn a pot of rice into a stage the whole world wants to watch.
On September 12, the fire will rise, the music will blare, and Lagos will smell like jollof. The only question left is: will Hilda Baci deliver the most unforgettable dish of her career?