Hilda Baci’s World Jollof Festival underway in Lagos (PHOTOS)

The cooking officially began at 2:08 p.m. when Baci ignited the large pot powered by gas energy beneath it.

Nigerian celebrated chef Hilda Baci has flagged off the much-anticipated World Jollof Festival at Eko Hotel Car Park B, Lagos, with an attempt to set a Guinness World Record.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Baci first revealed plans to attempt cooking the largest pot of Nigerian jollof rice in August and had since been making extensive preparations for the event.

The cooking officially began at 2:08 p.m. when Baci ignited the large pot powered by gas energy beneath it. The process is expected to last for eight hours before the dish is ready for the cheering crowd.

Speaking to this newspaper at the festival, Gino’s brand manager, Bright Mgbemele, described it as a way to promote African unity and showcase the perfection of the continent’s cuisine.

The event drew a massive turnout with close to 10,000 people in attendance.

“It is exciting to see almost 10,000 people gather together over a shared pot of jollof rice. It’s beyond our anticipation, and this is the kind of event we look out for because, for us in Nigeria, jollof is more than a dish,” he said.

“It’s that meal that brings together almost all of Africa. From Lagos city to Monrovia to Accra, we can see the unity that jollof is bringing.

“And what we are doing here is to set jollof on the global stage like never before. We are cooking the biggest pot of jollof rice. We are seeing it happen live.”

He added that the event not only seeks a world record but also celebrates local flavours and innovation.

“By our metrics, we calculated eight hours of cooking time for this dish to be ready for our people. It’s a shared moment for every Nigerian.

“Look at over 10,000 people, happy and smiling with a shared pot of jollof rice. This is showing you the power of jollof rice and food in driving unity, togetherness, and diversity across Africa,” he concluded.