In a surprising development, Guinness World Records (GWR) has announced the deactivation of its ‘cookathon’ category following a contentious cooking marathon in Ghana. This decision comes after Chef Ebenezer Smith, known as Millennium Chef, claimed to have set a new record with his 35-day cooking marathon in Spintex, clocking an astonishing 820 hours.
Chef Smith’s announcement at a recent press conference in Accra sparked excitement and a frenzy similar to the one caused by Afua Asantewaa’s singing marathon. Smith declared hhimself the West African record holder, but this claim was swiftly refuted by Guinness World Records.
In an official response email sent to GHone TV, GWR clarified, “No, this is not true at all. He does not hold the GWR title and that 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.”
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Adding to the controversy, Guinness World Records has now removed the cooking marathon category from its active records. This decision aligns with GWR’s policy of deactivating records that are challenging to measure accurately. For example, the ‘fastest violinist’ record was deactivated in 2017 because the organization found it difficult to judge the quality of renditions consistently.
GWR’s guiding principle for discontinuing certain records is succinctly put: “As a good rule of thumb—if you can’t measure, weigh, or count it—then it’s probably not a record!”
The aftermath of Chef Smith’s press conference took an unexpected turn when he ended up at a police station. Reports indicate that he was chased out of the event by men in police and mimilitary uniforms, brought in by Nana Boroo over an alleged breach of contract between him and Smith.
This sequence of events has raised questions and stirred significant debate within Ghana and the global community. While Chef Smith’s ambitious attempt captured widespread attention, the official stance from GWR has clarified the situation and emphasized the importance of verifiable and measurable records.
As the dust settles on this controversy, the focus now shifts to the broader implications of GWR’s decision to deactivate the cookathon category, leaving many to ponder what other records might face similar scrutiny in the future.
