Ogbomoso-born Chef, Tope Maggie, has commenced his ambitious quest to break the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest cooking marathon.
Tope Maggie had set a 200-hour cook-a-thon target, which is about eight days. The event, which started on Thursday evening, is being held at Ogbomoso Recreation Club, opposite LAUTECH College of Health Sciences, Isale-General, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Recall that an Irish chef, Alan Fisher, who owns a restaurant in Japan, had last week broken two cooking-related Guinness World Records (GWR).
Before Fisher, GWR had confirmed a Nigerian celebrity chef, Hilda Bassey, a.k.a Hilda Baci, as the record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual after she cooked for 93 hours earlier in the year.
However, on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, Guinness World Records announced that Fisher had claimed the longest cooking marathon by an individual after he clocked in a time of 119 hours 57 minutes. That is more than 24 hours longer than Hilda Baci’s record.
“What’s even more impressive is that Alan took on both attempts back to back, meaning he was at work in the kitchen for over 160 hours with just over a day of rest in between!,” GWR wrote on its official site at the time.
However, the latest move by Tope Maggie is to displace Fisher by setting himself the new target after Hilda Baci had smashed the former GWR held by Lata Tondon, an Indian, in May, after she cooked for 100hours (4 days) non-stop, though seven hours were later deducted as penalty for mistakenly taking an extra minutes for one of her rest breaks early on in the attempt.
Read Also: GWR: Irish Chef Dethrones Nigeria’s Hilda Baci, Breaks 2 Cooking Records
Tope Maggie, a professional chef, has been running restaurants in Ogbomoso for years.
Many people, including fans and admirers, have thronged the venue of the cook-a-thon to cheer Tope on towards realising the historic ambition.
He has also assured his fans that the goal was achievable.
In a voice note being circulated, Tope said he was all set and in high spirit for the task, calling for prayers and support from Nigerians.
“Good evening everyone and thank you for the support and everything you have been doing for me.
“As you know, we are going to start the cook-a-thon tomorrow (Thursday) and we are going for at least 200 hours, that is about eight days non-stop.
“l need you guys to at least pray for me and l want you to be calm and have trust in me and in God. It is going to be successful. I need your prayer and to watch me wherever you are. God will bless you,” Tope Maggie said.
When LEADERSHIP visited the venue of the cook-a-thon on Friday morning in the ancient city of Ogbomoso, it was a behive of activities as Tope was seen cooking various meals unaided. His supporters and team members were seated watching while some were seen eating different delicacies prepared by the chef.
Speaking to our correspondent at the venue, a member of the Tope Maggie Team, Seun Ogunbiyi, said the foods being prepared since Thursday were not eaten at the venue alone as many hundreds of packs of assorted foods were taken to town to share to people as a form of charity.
The Guinness Book of Records is a reference book that contains human and natural world records. First published in 1955 by the Guinness Brewery in Ireland, it has exploded in popularity and includes a wide range of different records, such as the world’s smallest and largest, quickest and slowest, as well as the most weird and unusual accomplishments.
Individuals or groups must submit proof to the Guinness World Records team and go through a verification process to qualify for a world record listing. When a record is validated, it is put into the book and becomes an official world record.
