Her name is Hilda Effiong Bassey. A spiffy chef. Somewhat wacky and raunchy with weird vibes. Endowed with Amazonian beauty and brawn, she likes to strut her cookery stuff with the name Hilda Baci. Hitherto unknown. But Hilda is a dreamer. History, they say, belongs to dreamers. She dreamt of feeding the world with her culinary dexterity. She nursed the ambition of becoming the chef with the longest cooking time.

Before Monday, May 15, 2023, that record belonged to Indian chef, Lata Tondon, who had cooked for 87 hours, 45 minutes in 2019 to clinch the number one spot as the chef with the most hours of non-stop cooking.

However, by 8pm of Monday, May 15, Hilda had turned the table. She notched the longest cooking time by an individual, a 100-hour record time.

Guinness World Records has officially recognized Hilda’s feat. A feat not likely to be wiped away anytime soon. Legend says Hilda, a graduate of Madonna University, has been an experienced chef, starting out from her mother’s restaurant. It’s a family thing. Cooking good food is no happenstance. Not an accident. It comes from drill. Hilda had been drilled by her mother. Hilda hails from Akwa Ibom. Their women are famed for good meals, neatness. And for other good things that life offers. Just check out Hilda. Sublime beauty. Well-toned skin. Ebony hue. Curvy and an exemplar of the much-sought after figure-8 shape. That’s the sensational morphology of the wonder chef who stunned the world. She placated nerves of Nigerians; a people starved of good news from home. She gave Nigerian, nay African, women a voice. She made all Nigerians proud.

Many lessons to learn in the Hilda story. First is the country-wide support she got from Nigerians. While she sweated in the kitchen for over four days churning out different delicacies, Nigerians of all tribes and tongues were rooting for her. The support was organic from one and all. Nigerians saw one of their own daring the impossible and they showered her with love and overwhelming support. They did not see an Akwa Ibom lady. They saw a compatriot on her way to global reckoning. The support was effervescent. In the streets, at pubs, in our homes, Hilda was writ large in discourses. Hilda became out hit. Our Hilda, A Nigerian brand and Ambassador. The strong strictures of ethnicity and religion collapsed into a volcano of nationalistic fervor. Nationalism submerged sectionalism.

Lesson: Nigerians will support what is good and adds value to their lives. Nigerians are not as ethno-religiously divided as people imagine. The same Nigerians will support a government or leader that is doing well. Any leader that leads well, delivers the much-touted dividends of democracy will enjoy the people’s support. Most Nigerians didn’t know Hilda before her cook-a-thon feat. Just a few associated her with her Lagos-based restaurant – My Food by Hilda, said to be an upscale version of her mother’s Calabar Pot. But the same Nigerians unanimously gave her support when Hilda was on the cusp of history. She was about to crest the sky and nudge Nigeria a little up the ladder of global illustriousness.

Success has many cousins. Every success is a rainbow, a coalition of colours; a dash of brightness and incandescence. Hilda offered all. Her charm, beauty and measured humility in her moment of glory added to the glitz of the moment. Through her and with her, the world now knows that Nigeria is a culinary powerhouse, a fountain of good food and great chefs.

Yet another lesson: Hilda is a university graduate. She opted to pursue her passion, not a job. She is a talented chef. She runs TV programmes where she mentors the public on the rudiments of cooking. She opted to hone her talent and not hunt for employment. These days and these times, your degree is not your career. History graduates have triumphed in software engineering where IT graduates floundered. And the best Engineering graduates have turned out the best bankers. The world has advanced. Her advancement has thrown up myriad challenges all requiring solution. Whoever offers such solution wins the race. Hilda has in her hands the solution yearned for by gourmets.

The world is looking for good food to suit different moments and different ages. Hilda has it all. That’s why she’s trending. Henceforth, she’s no longer the Queen of My Food by Hilda. She’s the Queen of the world. A worthy ambassador of the female folk; an African outlier, not because of her degree certificate but on account of her skillful hands. She will trend into the hall of fame of big brands especially those in the food and drink business.  A celebrity is born in 27-year-old Hilda. She has sent a strong message to the women folk: Life is not only about activities in the ‘other room’; even activities in the kitchen can prove the password and passport for some persons to breast their tape gloriously in the race of life. Hilda is our latest shero. There are many other Sheroes in the Nigerian firmament. They are looking for opportunities to unleash the force of their talents and skills. Nigerian leaders must, as a necessity, create such opportunities for every girl-child to thrive. Creating oasis of sheroes is the basic building block for creating a nation of champions.

By her feat, Hilda has brought fame to Nigeria. She has attracted the attention of international investors in the food business. Tourists looking for culinary adventure would look to Nigeria to satiate their taste buds. Local brands who sign her on as the face of their brands would get more international media exposure.

She has just joined a horde of other Nigerians who have graced the Guinness World Record over the years. Step forth: Fela Anikulapo Kuti who recorded 46 albums as a solo artist over the course of a solo career spanning 23 years.

Modenine, British-born rapper (aka Babatunde Olusegun Adewale) who has won nine Headies: Best Rap Album (Malcolm IX – The Lost Sessions, 2006), Best Rap Single (“Cry”, 2007) and seven “Lyricist on the Roll” awards (2006–11 and 2013). Tuedon Morgan, who holds the fastest time to run a half marathon on each continent and the North Pole (female) in 62 days 12 hr 58 min 49 seconds.

Flora Ugunwa, who currently holds the record of the farthest female F54 javelin throw of 20.25 metres. Wizkid, whose single track was the first to reach one billion streams on Spotify, among other Nigerians.

Hilda is currently cat-walking on cloud nine. She’s easily the toast of the moment. We cannot begrudge her. We can only wish her the bounties that her new status could bring. Meantime, Nigerians, public and private actors must work together to create the opportunities that would ferret out more Hildas from their places of latency. Congratulations to our own Hilda, the graceful head-turner engraced with unblemished beauty.

Author: Ken Ugbechie