Guinness World Records deactivates its 'cookathon' category

Chef Ebenezer Smith on 1st February, began Ghana's second attempt at a cooking marathon taking over from the unsuccessful Failatu Abdul Razak.

Chef Smith cooked for 35 days in Spintex, completing 820 hours before ending his attempt on 1 March.

At a recent press conference, Chef Smith declared himself the West African record holder, sparking another Guinness World Records (GWR) frenzy in Ghana after Afua Asantewaa's singing marathon.

However, in an official response to an inquiry from GHone TV, Guinness World Records 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."

Guinness World Records has confirmed that Chef Smith of Ghana does not hold the GWR title and that his certificate is not authentic. 

Additionally, the cooking marathon record is no longer active.

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. pic.twitter.com/jM6QjL1usX

— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) July 3, 2024

Guinness World Records has a history of deactivating records for various reasons. For instance, "The largest ever mass balloon release" was deactivated with reason being environmental concerns. 

Their mantra for discontinuing records and applications is, "If you can't measure, weigh, or count it—then it's probably not a record!"

Earlier reports indicated that Chef Smith ended up at the police station after his controversial press conference, during which he claimed to be the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon by an individual. 

Chef Smith, also known as Millennium Chef, was reportedly chased out of the press conference by men in police and military uniforms. Security personnel, brought to the conference venue by Nana Boroo, were addressing a supposed breach of contract between him and Smith.