Who is Zeinab BANCE, the Ivorian chef chasing the Guinness record in “non-stop” cooking?

In Abidjan, the challenge in which chef Zeinab Bancé is engaged makes her the focus of all the spotlights at the moment. For her, it is about breaking the Guinness record for “non-stop” cooking for 5 days by cooking Ivorian dishes for 15,000 guests. Her endurance is put to the test as an audience around her raises the mood and public figures, ministers and influencers parade to give her their support and patriotism.

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Zeinab Bancé’s challenge began last Tuesday, December 17 and will have to reach 120 hours of “non-stop” cooking, to beat the world record for the culinary marathon of 119 hours 57 minutes held by the American Alan Fischer. This record, registered under the strict rules of Guinness World Records, requires rigorous preparation and energy management.

“In accordance with Guinness World Records regulations, I am entitled to 5 minutes of break for each hour of activity, cumulative. After several hours in the kitchen, I took advantage of a well-deserved 3-hour break before resuming this historic challenge,” reports the Ivorian challenger.

During the press conference on December 2, she explained the principles of her challenge: “ I have to do 120 hours of preparation without sleeping, from December 17 to 22. I have been preparing for this for a long time and have already completed three days without sleep. I have been nurturing this project and preparing for this challenge for two years, but it was only validated a year ago. Since then, we started to organize ourselves seriously, more than eight months ago”she said.

“I had already applied without success, but after the CAN, I received a favorable response. I think the CAN had a determining role in that. I have the support of institutional support for the Guinness record which I wish to beat, with the aim of exceeding 15,000 dishes. Although this project is personal, it includes an important social component through the sharing of these dishes in the kitchen. I am very fast and that is one of my qualities,” she added after recognizing that during her first candidacy, she had suffered a failure.

Zeinab BANCE is surrounded in this operation by a team made up of nutritionists, a personal coach, logisticians and assistants who, however, are required not to help her cook.

Guinness World Records is subject to strict rules with oversight by official judges and independent witnesses. The prepared meals are consumed by the people who come to support it and redistributed to disadvantaged groups previously identified to avoid food waste.

Head chef Zeinab Bancé has 17 years of experience. She is a woman of many talents because in addition to cooking, she is an entrepreneur, interior designer and event planner.

Kouamé L.-Ph. Arnaud KOUAKOU

Burkina24 correspondent in Ivory Coast

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