When passion reigns supreme, success is inevitable and Kenyan chef Maliha Mohammed put this to practice and entered the Guinness World Records. Maliha is a self-taught chef and her passion for cooking ignited a desire to break world cooking records. This time around, she embarked on making a record for the longest cooking marathon in a home kitchen after a gruelling culinary streak.
Table of Contents
Did Kenyan Chef Maliha Mohammed Enter The Guinness World Records?
She broke a previous record held by American chef Rickey Lumpkin of California, who attained a home cooking time of 68 hours, 30 minutes, and 1 second in December 2018. Maliha’s adrenaline-packed “cook-a-thon” lasted a startling 90 hours and 15 minutes.
Kenyan Chef Maliha Mohammed. Photo/Nairobi News
The chef chronicled every step of her cooking journey on her Instagram page. She also thanked her fans and shared the feeling of pulling through what the world was closely following with lots of hope.
“Yes, we did it! New world record holder for the longest home kitchen cooking marathon in town! Shukran for the support!” read the post.
When Did Chef Maliha Mohammed Start Her Cooking Challenge?
Kenyan Chef Maliha Mohammed Maliha started her cook-a-thon on August 10, 2023, and ended on August 15. She made a ton of delicious food while taking frequent pauses to rejuvenate and move on to the next task. Kenyans cheered her on as all this happened. Some Kenyan artists and content creators pitched camp at her home kitchen in Athi River, Machakos County to support her.
Among them were Kenyan content creators:
- Crazy Kennar
- Vinnie Baite
- Oga Obinna
- Nadia Mukami
Former Kenyan Prime Minister’s daughter Winnie Odinga also went to Athi River to support her. The chef’s ground-breaking achievement is currently pending approval by the Guinness World Records, a procedure that necessitates exacting verification and documentation. If the claim is confirmed, she will succeed Lumpkin as the new world record holder.
Who is Chef Maliha?
Maliha was born on October 20, 1983, in Mombasa, Kenya and took up cooking professionally based on her passion. Besides running a successful kitchen trading as Gourmet Cooking 254, she is a culinary judge, an instructor and a cooking gas ambassador. The 40-year-old mother of two started cooking when she was eight years old. She spent most of her time learning how to cook and her mother and grandparents inspired her to keep learning more about culinary art.
Chef Maliha competed in the Royco Fuata Fleva Contest in 2014 and made it to the semifinals. She then left Kenya for the Gulf where she secured a job in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between 2009 and 2010 as a cook for Prince Khalid Bin Mishail Al Saud. Her Arabian cuisines challenged her to return home and start a business in the cooking line and she did so. Luckily, she introduced herself to Kenyans during a cook-a-thon held in 2019 at the Technical University of Kenya. She prepared 100 meals in 36 straight hours of cooking. Not satisfied, she pushed herself to the core until she achieved the record for the longest cooking session in August 2019 by preparing meals for more than 75 hours. This was double the hours she put in during the first cook-a-thon and she dreamed big in 2023 and added 15 minutes to her previous record.
Which Other Africa Chef is in the Guinness World Records?
Once certified, Kenyan Chef Maliha Mohammed will join Nigerian chef Hilda Baci who recently rallied the world into a similar cook-a-thon. Hilda in May 2023 set a new record after posting a record cooking time of 87 hours 46 minutes. She successfully elbowed out Lata Tondon who is the immediate former holder of the longest cooking time.
Nigerian chef Hilda Baci. Photo/Hilda Baci/Instagram
Tondon posted a record time of 87 hours 45 minutes in 2019, in India and booked herself a slot in the Guinness World Record. Hilda, kicked off her journey to stardom on Thursday, May 11 at 4 pm and completed it on Monday morning, May 15. Baci is a restaurant chef currently working at Amore Gardens, in the prestigious Lekki neighbourhood in Lagos. Her real name is Hilda Effiong, and she is a big name in Naija’s food industry.
Despite starting her career as a chef just recently in 2020, she has managed to build a successful brand for herself known as @Myfoodbyhilda. With her recent cook-a-thon success, she started her culinary career in 2020. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic which ravaged the world, she turned to Instagram to ply her trade. That’s how she became a Nigerian food sensation. But who is she and what’s her background like?
She is 27 years old and is an Akwa Ibom State native born on September 20, 1996. Cooking is more of a passion for her. She doubles up as an actress and producer. However, it is cooking that gives her so much joy in life.
