Irish chef and restaurant owner in Japan Alan Fisher has surpassed Nigerian chef Hilda Baci as the winner of the longest cooking marathon.
After a total of 119 hours and 57 minutes in the kitchen, Fisher was declared the winner of the longest cooking marathon (individual). The previous record, held by Nigerian chef Hilda Baci, was surpassed by more than 24 hours.
As an individual, Alan’s 47 hours and 21 minutes of baking time set a new world record. The previous record holder was Wendy Sandner (USA) with a time of 31 hours 16 minutes.
Even more astounding is the fact that Alan did not take even a day off between the two efforts; he spent over 160 hours cooking.
Alan Fisher’s quest to break the record was fraught with increasingly complex challenges. Back pain almost derailed his bid to set a world record for the longest solo baking marathon. Alan’s back hurt because his posture was twisted when he mixed the bread by hand.
Alan struggled with exhaustion and drowsiness as he neared the conclusion of his effort to set a new world record for the longest cooking marathon (individual).
Challenges faced during the Marathon Cooking
During the marathon, he peeled almost 300 kilogrammes of potatoes, he added. At first, I looked forward to this every night since it offered me a chance to relax and unwind after a long day.
But when exhaustion set in towards the conclusion of the lengthy cooking session, I found it more difficult to remain alert every time I sat down to begin peeling. The repetitive motion of peeling could nearly put me to sleep. On the second-to-last day, I had a single hallucination. Just like every other day, I turned to beg for a hand and saw nobody there to provide it to me.
Alan said that the locals’ encouragement of his record attempt was what kept him going in the face of difficulties.
At that time, I knew I had to keep going. My goal in making these dishes was to tell the tale of my Irish ancestry, my family, and myself. As time passed by it became evident that many individuals in Matsue were also wishing me luck. Feels like I’ve always belonged here, even though I’m nearly 9,000 kilometres away from home. There’s no way I could give up now. That was literally the last resort.
After nine days in the kitchen, Alan had produced 357 kilogrammes of soda bread and 590 kilogrammes of food (three thousand, three hundred sixty five servings, or 32 recipes). When he finally got his two world record certifications, however, it was all worth it.
