We were not aware of Chef Smith’s longest cooking marathon attempt – Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records (GWR), the global authority on record-breaking achievements, says it was not aware of the longest cooking marathon by an individual attempted by Ghanaian Ebenezer Smith.

Smith began his cook-a-thon on February 1, 2024, without much fanfare at the Amadia Shopping Centre at Spintex, Accra. He cooked for 820 hours, ending his marathon on March 6, 2024, although he initially targeted 1,200 hours.

He claimed to be the new holder of the record yesterday at a press briefing in Accra.

However, GWR, in an email (below) to GraphicOnline’s Kweku Zurek, said it was not aware of the attempt, and Smith did not submit any evidence for assessment before making his claim for the record.

“To confirm he does not hold the GWR title and the certificate is not real and has not come from Guinness World Records,” GWR PR Manager, Madalyn Bielfeld, said in an email to GraphicOnline.

“No, we were not aware. We have not received an application from him for this attempt,” she added.

Setting the record straight, GWR said the longest cooking marathon (individual) is 119 hr 57 min 16 sec, achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from September 28 to October 3, 2023.

GWR declined to comment on whether it would be seeking legal remedies against Smith over his world record claim.

Differences in certificates

A closer inspection reveals that there are differences between the GWR 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.