Ghanaian chef Ebenezer Smith, also known as Chef Smith, has been exposed for fraudulently claiming to have set a new Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.
Smith had announced on social media that he had set a new record of 802 hours and 25 minutes. This surpasses the previous mark by a great amount of time. However, Alina Polianskaya, a PR executive for Guinness World Records, has firmly refuted these claims.
“It is not true that Ebenezer Smith has been awarded a Guinness World Record certificate,” Polianskaya told BBC. “The current and true record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual is Alan Fisher from Ireland. He achieved 119 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds in Matsue, Japan, from September 28 to October 3, 2023.”
Unfortunately, this revelation comes as a blow to Smith. He has proudly displayed a fake Guinness World Record certificate on his social media channels. Deceiving his followers into believing he had achieved the prestigious accomplishment.
The previous record holders
Also, the record holder before Alan Fisher was Hilda Baci, a Nigerian chef who set the world record in 2022 with a marathon of 100 hours. Hilda Baci’s achievement inspired millions of Nigerians. Several of them have come out to attempt to break different types of Guinness World Records. This wave is popularly tagged as the “Hilda Baci effect.”
Guinness World Records has made it clear that it does not recognize Smith’s claimed record. The organisation has taken steps to address the unauthorized use of its brand and the dissemination of false information.
Furthermore, this isn’t Ebenezer Smith’s first attempt at breaking the longest cooking marathon record. He sent his first application in June and November 2023 to which he was denied. Chef Smith claimed to have received approval from the Guinness World Records in January 2024 after which he and his team began preparing for the cook-a-thon.
Chef Smith’s arrest
Following the press conference held by Chef Smith, the police arrested him and his manager. Their arrest is due to a breach of contract between the chef and main sponsor of the cookathon, Amadia Shopping Center.
One of the company’s representatives stormed the venue of the press conference to understand why the chef did not inform them of the email that he went to another venue to make the public announcement.
Chef Smith’s lawyer, Kofi Awoonor, spoke on this situation at a local TV station (TV3). He said the arrest is “in connection with some disagreement with Chef Smith’s lead sponsor for the cookathon.”
“I got a call that my client has been arrested, so I came here. But the officers said the commander is not around where the investigators are also not in the office at the time – but they will brief me on Wednesday about the full details.”
Chef Smith’s former team member, Naa Adjeley, said; “The company has pumped over GH¢ 300k for the cookathon – for equipment, foodstuff and things used for the attempt, so they are upset that the chef did not tell them anything before he went to do the press conference.”
She also added that the chef has a new manager and team who have been running things. Apparently, they sidelined all the people who were part of the team during the cookathon attempt.
“Before I left the police station Tuesday night, it was the chef and his manager who were there answering questions.”
Finally, as Chef Ebenezer Smith is facing charges with Amadia Shopping Center, people are calling upon Guinness World Records to make a public statement to confirm if Chef Smith is indeed the official record holder.
The Guardian
