A Ghanaian chef, known as Chef Smith, is on the verge of breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual. He has already cooked for over 260 hours, surpassing the previous record of 227 hours, held by another Ghanaian chef, Faila Abdul-Razak.
Chef Smith, whose real name is Kwame Smith, started his cook-a-thon on February 1, 2024, at the Amadia Shopping Centre in Accra, and plans to finish on March 6, 2024. He aims to cook for a total of 360 hours, or 15 days, to set a new record.
He has been preparing various dishes from different regions and countries and has received support and donations from the public, celebrities, and politicians. He has also been broadcasting his cook-a-thon live on his Twitter account and YouTube channel.
Chef Smith says he is not doing his cook-a-thon to undermine Chef Faila, but rather to challenge himself and showcase his talent and love for cooking. He also says he applied for the Guinness World Records approval in September 2020, and that his cook-a-thon is not a sudden or spontaneous attempt.
“It’s very unfortunate how people like to jump to conclusions and in my case, for instance, I’m not enjoying the public support because Ghanaians think that my cook-a-thon attempt is just to undermine Faila’s record.
“That is far from it, what I’m doing is not to rival Faila or anyone at all. It is an ambition that I started pursuing last year after getting the inspiration from Nigeria’s Hilda Baci who did hers in May. I applied in July but was turned down.
“God being so good, I was given the green light in September last year and it’s just a coincidence that the time I’m ready is coming right after that of another Ghanaian,” he told Graphic Showbiz in an interview on Tuesday, February 6.
Chef Smith is a product of the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management of National University, Philippines, and an international executive chef.
He says he was inspired by Nigeria’s Hilda Baci, who held the record with 93 hours in May 2020, before it was broken by Ireland’s Alan Fisher, who clocked in 119 hours and 57 minutes in June 2020.