Guinness World Records Deactivates ‘Cook-a-Thon’ Category After Ghanaian Chef Smith’s Certificate Forgery

Guinness World Records has removed the “cook-a-thon” category after Ghanaian chef, Ebenezer Smith forged a certificate.

KanyiDaily had earlier reported that Ebenezer Smith, better known as Millennium Chef Smith, was arrested and detained at La Police Station for forging a Guinness World Record for marathon cooking.

On Tuesday, July 2, Chef Smith held a press conference to present the fake certificate, claiming he set a new world record with an 820-hour, 25-minute cook-a-thon from February 1 to March 6, 2024.

After presenting the fake record, Alina Polianskaya, PR Executive for Guinness World Records, confirmed to the BBC that Chef Smith’s certificate was fake.

Amid the outrage trailing Smith’s action, Guinness World Records has deactivated the  ‘cook-a-thon’ category following the controversy over the Ghananian chef’s false claim.

Guinness World Records made this move to maintain the integrity of its records, ensuring all records are set and verified with strict guidelines to prevent future incidents.

A social media user announced the deactivation, stating, “Guinness World Records deactivates its ‘cookathon’ category after it seems to have inspired an unstoppable frenzy in certain parts of the world.

“In Ghana, one contender, displaying a certificate as the new record holder, claims to have cooked for more than 30 days.”

KanyiDaily had reported that the record holder for the longest cooking marathon is Irish chef Alan Fisher with 119 hours and 57 minutes, surpassing the previous record held by Nigeria’s Hilda Baci.