An Oyo State-based chef, Adebayo Ayodeji Temitope, also known as Tope Maggie, who completed a 200-hour-long cooking marathon in Ogbomoso last November, has revealed why the Guinness World Record (GWR) is yet to confirm his attempt.
In an exclusive interview with The Informant247, Tope Maggie noted that the GWR is still verifying all the evidence sent by his team and believes they will make an official announcement as soon as they are done with the process.
Acknowledging that GWR has numerous attempts to deal with aside from the cookathon, he expressed the belief that an official announcement will be made in February. He added that the international body had informed him it would take three months before providing feedback.
He said, “The GWR sent a message to me immediately after we sent all our evidence that it will take three months before they can give me feedback because they have a lot of evidence to check due to the fact it’s a 200-hour attempt, which would be very long for them to put everything together.
“By the grace of God, we are expecting that by February, we ought to have gotten our response.”
He explained that he was advised against exploring another option that could have fast-tracked his announcement, which would require paying a sum of £500 for some kind of ‘upgrade.’
“We were advised by someone who knows their system not to opt for the option of getting the result faster. He made us realize that the current holder of the world record, Alan Fisher, is in Ireland, which is close to where GWR is located, and they would want the guy to enjoy his certificate because he also worked seriously for it,” he said.
He pointed out that Fisher’s confirmation also came about five months after Nigeria’s Hilda Baci had held the record.
Tope, a graduate of the Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State, said he was driven by the urge to put the name of his hometown on the world map and is not desperate to get the certificate.
“I just wanted to break a record—not that I want my name to be mentioned around the world, but I just want Ogbomoso to do something that many people say it’s not possible for another person to do, which I did.
“I am not in a haste to get this certificate, and I also believe that it’s our evidence that the GWR is working on now,” he quipped.
In an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, currently held by Irish chef Alan Fisher, Chef Tope cooked from Thursday, 9 November 2023, to Saturday, 18 November 2023.
The cooking marathon took place at Ogbomoso Recreation Club, opposite LAUTECH College of Health Sciences, Isale-General, in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
If confirmed as the new record holder, Chef Tope will be the second Nigerian to hold the title after Hilda Baci, who once held the record after cooking for 93 hours and 11 minutes.
Fisher currently holds the record with 119 hours and 57 minutes.