Smith: The Ghanaian chef in the eye of storm over fake world record

By Charles Mgbolu

Ghanaian chef Ebenezer Smith’s fairy tale journey to entering the Guinness Book of Records (GWR) after two cooking attempts and a viral press conference has come to a dramatic end.

Ghana’s local media was awash on Tuesday with news that Chef Smith had broken the record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

Smith told a press conference in Accra: “Today is the day that I will forever remember. I am incredibly humbled and honoured to stand before you today as the Guinness World Record holder.”

Smith also presented a ‘certificate from GWR' endorsing his record, and his story went viral.

But in a shocking twist to this tale that had Ghanaian fans in the throes of indescribable joy, GWR has denied ever endorsing Smith as a cook-a-thon record holder.

GWR also said the certificate Smith presented at his press conference was a fake.

“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," GWR said in a statement.

Smith claimed he was presented with the award after cooking for 820 hours and 25 minutes from February 1 to March 6, 2024.

GWR on their official website maintains that “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.

GWR has also deactivated the cooking marathon category on its website, with a message now reading, “This record is currently inactive and no applications are being accepted for it.”

Chef Ebenezer Smith made his unsuccessful attempt after another Ghanaian chef, Failatu Abdul Razak, tried and failed.

In an interview with Accra-based Hitz FM on 3 July 2024, Chef Ebenezer Smith's manager, Benny said he had no knowledge of the statements by GWR and that he had in his possession an official email from GWR declaring Chef Smith as the world record holder.

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