Nigerian chef Bassey successfully cooked 8,780 kilograms of Jollof rice in Lagos, the country’s largest city, on the 12th, setting a new Guinness World Record.
According to the BBC, this dish, which is very popular in West Africa, took 9 hours to complete. During the weighing process, staff used a crane to lift the giant iron pot, but the pot broke at one point and the challenge nearly failed—fortunately, the rice didn’t spill. Guinness World Records later confirmed the achievement on social media.
Head chef Bassey gave thanks to her team and supporters during the celebration, calling this a shared honor for Nigeria and Africa. She revealed that, in order to accomplish this task, she worked closely with 10 other chefs, continuously stirring the rice in a custom-made steel pot.
This giant steel pot was created by 300 people over the course of two months and has a capacity of up to 23,000 liters. In the end, the pot contained a total of 4,000 kilograms of rice, 500 boxes of tomato paste, 600 kilograms of onions, and 168 kilograms of goat meat.
On the day of the event, thousands of people came to watch. The Jollof rice was later divided into small portions and distributed to the spectators and passersby.
Bassey said she had prepared for the challenge for an entire year. “Nigeria is the giant of Africa, and Jollof rice is one of the most representative foods of Africa. We should make the biggest pot in the world.”