Chef Hilda Bassey Effiong, popularly known as Hilda Baci, has revealed that her recent achievement of breaking the record for the ‘longest cooking time by an individual’ was met with disapproval from some individuals who believed she had been excessively blessed.
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Hilda Baci successfully surpassed the previous record set by India’s Lata Tandon, cooking non-stop for an impressive 100 hours, surpassing the previous record of 87 hours and 45 minutes.
During an interview on the ‘I Said What I Said’ Podcast following her record-breaking feat, Hilda Baci expressed that many people felt threatened by her exceptional beauty, skills, and charisma.
She recounted receiving comments such as “It’s not fair” and “How can she possess such beauty and talent? That’s not how life works.”
“There were a lot of ‘It’s not fair’, like, ‘how can only her be fine, be hot, ah ah. How can only her have all these things? That’s not how life is.”
Addressing speculations that she had paid for publicity, she dismissed them by highlighting the value of the organic attention her attempt received. She emphasized that the level of positive media coverage and attention she gained cannot be bought or strategized.
“The PR that we invested in, how much, how much was it? The kind of earned media that the attempt got, you cannot pay for it. You can’t plan for it, you can’t pay it. It’s grace. You can only hope.”
Hilda Baci attributed her success to grace and acknowledged that it was something beyond monetary investment or planning.