A Kamloops chef has unofficially broken the Guinness World Record for longest time spent cooking.
Zainab Oladipo, founder of the restaurant Afrofusion in downtown Kamloops, eclipsed the record just after 10 a.m. on Wednesday to great fanfare from about a dozen cheering supporters inside her restaurant.
Speaking to Castanet, an exhausted but proud Oladipo said the cooking marathon is the most difficult thing she’s ever done — and also a blessing.
“I knew from the beginning that I was going to be able to do it,” she said.
Oladipo said breaking the record means a lot to her, but it couldn’t have been done without teamwork.
“It shows that a lot of people are here sacrificing their time, their sleep and everything, to make this happen. It's not a one-man show,” she said.
“I’ve always known I was going to reach this far, but I didn't know it was going to test me and take such a huge toll on me.”
Cooking marathon volunteer Makat Kaur said she was very happy to see Oladipo break the record.
“I can surely say, a person to stand and cook non-stop, not just to break the record, she’s giving back to the community, feeding the people, and no specific cast, creed or religion — anyone — that’s the beauty,” she said.
Verification required
No official from Guinness was on site Wednesday to witness the new record. Oladipo said she did not apply to have anyone attend because it would have been too expensive, but she is going to submit evidence in the hopes Guinness will verify her record.
She said the livestream video of her record attempt will be part of the evidence she sends in.
“It’s not official right now, until they verify the attempt,” Oladipo said.
She said it can take up to 12 weeks to have her record verified by Guinness, and she will submit her application once she’s completed the marathon.
The record time she beat was 140 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds, set last year by Evette Quoibia from Melbourne, Australia.
Goal still 300 hours
Though Oladipo has broken the record, it’s just a milestone in what remains her ultimate goal when she started the fundraiser — to cook for 300 hours straight.
She said when she embarked on this cooking marathon it was about showing her strength through cooking rather than breaking the current record.
Oladipo said the record attempt affords her just five minutes every hour — just two hours a day — to break from cooking to do things such as sleep or go to the bathroom.
The 300-hour push is also raising funds for hungry families, and the dishes she serves are available by donation to anyone who stops by Afrofusion, with some of the food going to help feed the homeless.
Oladipo has a GoFundMe account set up where people can donate.
Second time's the charm
Oladipo made an initial attempt to break the record on July 29, but fell ill and had to call it quits at about the 80-hour mark.
She said Guinness approved her restart, which began Aug. 7.
In a social media post, Oladipo explained she had to pause her initial cooking marathon as she had an unexpected reaction to medication during one of her scheduled breaks, requiring a hospital visit.
She told Castanet when she woke up in the hospital following the first attempt she wanted to get right back in the kitchen.
“And the doctor’s like, no, you’re crazy,” Oladipo said.
Peek in on Oladipo at any point during the marathon on her livestream.
