Hilda Baci has done it again. This time, Guinness World Records didn't just confirm a record — they made her an icon.

The celebrity chef has been named a Guinness World Records Icon, becoming the first African human to ever receive that title. The only other living being in Africa with the honour is Jonathan the tortoise, the world's oldest terrestrial animal, who lives on St Helena island.

Guinness World Records ICONS is a programme that celebrates extraordinary people and moments that shape the world. Right now, only 67 personalities hold the title globally — names like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Drake, Usain Bolt, and MrBeast. Hilda is now on that list.

It started in May 2023. Hilda, then 26, cooked for 93 hours and 11 minutes straight — that's nearly four days. She prepared over 100 pots of food, and the world watched. The cook-a-thon blew up on social media and sparked a wave of record attempts across Nigeria and Africa. Guinness says thousands of applications came in from the continent in the months after her attempt.

"The impact Hilda's attempt had on record-breaking from not just Nigeria, but other countries in Africa was profound, and her influence still lives on to this day," Guinness said in a statement.

She didn't stop there. In September 2025, she set two more records: the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice and the overall largest serving of rice. That single dish weighed 8,780 kilograms — nearly 20,000 pounds.

Hilda received her ICON certificate in an emotional ceremony. In a video posted on Instagram, she fought back tears as she spoke about the journey.

"This plaque in my hand, there's a part of me that dumbs it down because it is me. Sometimes, when I hear people talk about me and the things I've done and the things I've been able to achieve, I don't listen to it because my mind almost cannot accept that it is me," she said.

She called the honour a win for Nigeria. "I love so much that right next to my name, there's Nigeria on it because this is for Nigeria. This is for all of us."

The Guinness Book of Records will feature her with a two or three-page spread. She called the recognition surreal, admitting she once doubted her dreams could ever come true.

Hilda's rise from a young chef with big ambitions to a global record icon has been nothing short of remarkable. Her 2023 cook-a-thon wasn't just a personal victory — it turned her into a household name and inspired a generation of Nigerians to believe they too could break world records.

Now, with the ICON title, she joins an elite club of global superstars. And she's bringing Nigeria along for the ride.