Few weeks ago, the Guinness World Record holder and global chef, Hilda Baci, hinted to the public that she will be embarking on the largest pot of jollof rice cooking on the 12th of September, 2025, at Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island, Lagos, and she is targeting to feed 20,000 participants.
She equally took her time the following week to explain to us how she intended to go about the cooking, ranging from the quantity of rice ingredients to be used to the measurements of the pot Just 2 days to the event, she took to her page to inform the participants of the new venue, giving reasons of the capacity, which is now beyond her expectations.
Fast forward to the deal day, the largest pot was moved from the old venue to Eko Hotel and Suites, the new venue. The Caterpillar and Crane dropping the largest pot is thrilling to watch, as the demo is like a Nollywood film.The video of the ingredients to be used surfaced online, and it was very fascinating to see, as we can see large quantities of onions, vegetable oil, spices, and other ingredients.
As early as 6am, video of participants has started surfacing online, and looking at their faces, you will see the enthusiasm. You will see the support. You will see the solidarity devoid of media hyping or propaganda.
We’re shown how the pot was washed, how the rice was washed, how it was poured inside the pot, and when the meats, paste, vegetable oil, and spices were poured and roasted. I equally saw when the pot was reopened to check the color of the rice to know whether the ingredients had been properly mixed.
I noticed when the food was done and when the crane operator was asked to lift the pot with contents to ascertain the weight. At this stage, devil showed up as the Big Pot collapsed in the process. I saw how God intervened by not allowing the jollof rice, which took almost a year to plan and finally cooked for 9 hours, to fall out of the pot.I saw how this unfortunate incident was deliberately pended before finally making it out to the public, and this happened when Hilda Baci and her team had finally dished out the food. That’s a spirit of love. A tap of encouragement to Hilda at that.
It shows Nigerians actually know what should come first when they truly love you and your creative ideas. Now, to what is inside the Jollof Rice. I can see people who flew from Rivers State down to the venue inside this Jollof rice. I can see students who are in the middle of depression inside this Jollof rice. Not only that, but I can see people who are going through hell inside the jollof rice. Likewise, I can see people who are passionate about people’s progress inside the Jollof Rice.
Ohh! Do you think people are hungry or jobless to have devoted their time to such an event? Come on, off it, it is beyond that. What that shows you is that if you have something worthy, you tend to get such support, love, and encouragement.
I SAW LOVE INSIDE HILDA BACI’S JOLLOF RICE.
I celebrate you, Hilda Baci on this great feat.
Written By Olawoyin Edris Busayo
