Ogbomoso-born chef and entrepreneur, Prince Tope Adebayo, popularly known as Tope Maggie, is on his way to breaking the Guinness World Records for the “longest cooking marathon by an individual”.
This is coming after the chef hit the 100-hour mark at 10:30 on Monday evening, with just 20 hours remaining to set a new world record.
He kicked off the 200-hour cooking marathon in Ogbomoso on Thursday, November 9th, at exactly 6:30 pm after he turned on his cooker.
Chef Tope aims to beat the 119 hours and 57 minutes record set by the current Guinness World Records holder, Alan Fisher, an Irish chef who a few weeks ago took over from Hilda Bacci
The event, which is taking place at the Ogbomoso Recreation Club, is being live-streamed on Facebook and Instagram, and several celebrities and notable politicians have been visiting the venue to cheer him up.
The 200-hour cooking marathon has garnered attention both online and at the physical venue, where celebrities, students, and public members are also trooping in to support the chef.
In a chat with journalists before the event, the Ogbomoso-born chef said he was supposed to bring the world record title back to Nigeria. “I am not just bringing the title back; I want Nigeria to retain it for a longer period. That is why I chose the 200 hours so that it will be difficult for anyone to break.
I started the dream long ago, and I think the time is ripe for me to achieve the feat. I took all the necessary steps and met the requirements of the Guinness World Record before I embarked on the marathon cooking.
Bashorun Akinwale Solomon Akinwole, chairman of AA Luxury, who was at the venue on Monday, said, “The efforts being made by Prince Tope to beat the current Guinness World Record for cooking for nine days nonstop shows the true Nigerian spirit of hard work and resilience. I applaud his determination and focus on the goal, inspiring many Nigerian youths to live their dreams through hard work and dedication. I wish him well on this noble journey to pen her name in the golden book of history.”
The president of the Ogbomoso Recreation Club (ORC), Dr Akin Oladeji Johnbrown, said they are hosting the event as part of the club’s way of improving the lives of individuals in the community. He added that if Chef Tope Maggie can set a new record, the development will bring prestige to Ogbomoso town, Oyo State, and Nigeria.
The operation manager, Mr Niyi Olaleye, said the record-breaking attempt started at exactly 6pm last Thursday when he turned on his gas, and ever since he has been cocking, all the food is served free, and people are happy to be here. We also have DJs on standby and a music stand for live performances. It has been awesome, the support is overwhelming, and I am optimistic that Chef Tope won’t let his fans down.
Some of our big brothers and friends have reached out to us on this project, and the majority of them have even been coming since we started the marathon. On Sunday, Hon. Olusegun Dokun Odebunmi, a three-time member of the National Assembly, was around with some of his friends and supporters to cheer him up.
