Guinness World Records (GWR) has clarified that it never received an application for a cooking marathon from Ghanaian chef Ebenezer Smith.
PR Manager for GWR, Madalyn Bielfeld confirmed in an email to GraphicOnline that the certificate Chef Smith presented is not legitimate, as GWR did not issue it nor did they verify his attempt.
She stated, “No, we were not aware. We have not received an application from him for this attempt.”
Chef Smith reportedly began his cooking marathon on February 1, 2024, at the Amadia Shopping Centre in Spintex, Accra, and concluded on March 6, 2024, after cooking for 820 hours, with an initial goal of 1,200 hours. Despite claiming to have broken the record, GWR maintains that the official longest cooking marathon record is held by Alan Fisher of Ireland, who cooked for 119 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from September 28 to October 3, 2023.
Chef Smith’s announcement of being declared a record holder by GWR on July 2, 2024, was met with scrutiny due to discrepancies in the certificate he displayed.
Unlike GWR certificates, Smith’s listed his nationality instead of his country and spelled out the duration of his attempt differently from the standard GWR format.