She was fatigued, had swollen legs and could barely walk due to standing for long hours, but these pains paid off in the end for Maliha Mohammed after it was announced that she had broken the Guinness World Record for longest time spent cooking in the individual category.
Mohammed, a 36-year-old chef from Mombasa, Kenya, cooked for 75 hours non-stop, setting the new record on Sunday, August 18 at Kenya Bay Beach Resort in Mombasa.
The chef, who started cooking on Thursday, August 15, at exactly 10 am to 1.03 pm on Sunday, August 18, has beaten the record set by Rickey Lumpkin of California in the United States, who cooked for 68 hours, 30 minutes, 1 second in December 2018.
“I thank God, my family, Pwani Oil Company and everyone who contributed to my success of bringing this title home. I am happy to be the first female chef in Africa to earn this title,” Mohammed, a self-made cook who mastered her culinary skills through YouTube videos, told journalists over the weekend.
For long hours, she prepared over 400 recipes of Swahili cuisine and other local foods from all over the country, according to a report by the Daily Nation.
Mohammed, in spite of the fatigue and swollen feet, also prepared some international cuisines, including more than 10 types of pizza. She cooked “mandazi, biryani, chapati, coconut beans, chicken periperi, githeri, mukimo, fried fish, bacon and some juices,” the report added.
“For every 12 hours, I had a break of 30 minutes for rest. I thank God for reaching this far. I am going to rest for a very long time,” Mohammed said amidst tears of joy.
In April 2018, the self-made chef applied for the same competition and was nominated. She, however, could not take part in the competition held last December due to lack of funds.
According to the Daily Nation, she needed money to take care of expenses such as the ingredients she needed in the preparation of food, people to support her during the process, a camera person to shoot her during the cooking competition for 75 hours, among others.
Fortunately, she got sponsorship from Pwani Oil to enter this year’s event. She has, since last December, been preparing for this year’s competition. While rehearsing for the event, she cooked for 36 hours non-stop in June and another 54 hours in July.
“It has taken her a lot of effort and enthusiasm to achieve all this. We are hopeful that Guinness World Record will accord her a chance to travel and showcase Kenyan food to the world which will boost our tourism,” Pwani Oil Company’s commercial director, Rajul Malde said while congratulating Mohammed over the weekend.
In two weeks, Mohammed’s title will be confirmed after Guinness World Records endorses the videos and pictures taken throughout the 75 hours.
With this new record, Mohammed has joined the likes of Joseph Love, who milked 30 cows by hand in 24 hours; as well as, athletes Tegla Lorupe, Paul Tergat, Daniel Komen and Samuel Wanjiru – all of whom have featured in the Guinness Book of Records for their outstanding feats.
