That is not our certificate – Guinness World Records says Chef Smith’s certificate is forged

Ghanaian Chef Ebenezer Smith, popularly known as Chef Smith, does not hold the Guinness World Record (GWR) title for the longest cooking marathon (individual), GWR has confirmed.

In response to a private message sent by GraphicOnline’s Justice Agbenorsi to GWR’s official account on X (formerly Twitter), GWR clarified that the certificate displayed by Chef Smith “is not our certificate.”

“The current and true record holder is: The longest cooking marathon (individual) is 119 hr 57 min 16 sec and was achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from 28 September to 3 October 2023,” GWR confirmed.

“No, this is not true. Chef Smith does not hold the GWR title and that is not our certificate,” the message reiterated.

Differences in certificates

A closer inspection reveals that there are differences between the certificate displayed by Chef Smith and the ones handed out to previous holders of the record.

For instance, the GWR certificate handed to Nigerian Hilda Baci has her country and not her nationality, as captured on Chef Smith’s certificate, while the duration of her attempt was recorded in hr and min, whereas Chef Smith’s certificate had it spelled out in full, i.e., hours and minutes.