Chef Kumzee Completes 163-Hour Cookathon, Eyes Guinness World Record
Kanja Sesay Sierra Leonean chef Kumba Sinah, widely known as Chef Kumzee, has completed a 163-hour cooking marathon at Kabbana on Lumley Beach Road in Freetown, bringing a week-long endurance challenge to a close on Tuesday, November 11, 2026.
The attempt began at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, November 5, and ended at exactly 4:00 PM seven days later, according to live coverage and event updates. The final moments saw rapper King Boss La and Housemates Salone Season 4 winner Suad Baydoun join Kumzee on stage as she plated her last dish and marked her time log.
Kumzee cooked through exhaustion, burner heat, and sleep deprivation under Guinness World Records rules that permit only five minutes of rest for every hour of continuous cooking. The entire attempt was monitored through continuous video recording, independent timekeepers, and witnesses.
If verified, the 163-hour mark would surpass the current official record of 119 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds set by Irish chef Alan Fisher in Japan. It would also exceed Nigerian chef Hilda Baci’s 93-hour feat in 2023 and Liberian-Australian chef Evette Quoibia’s 140-hour attempt.
The event drew large crowds to Kabbana throughout the week, with free entrance and free food transforming the record attempt into a community festival. Kumzee used the platform to showcase Sierra Leonean cuisine, including cassava leaves, groundnut soup, jollof rice, and fish balls, serving hundreds of free meals to supporters.
Kumzee’s team will now submit thousands of hours of video evidence, witness forms, and log sheets to Guinness World Records for verification, a process expected to take eight to 12 weeks.
If confirmed, this would be Sierra Leone’s third Guinness World Record, following the largest Sampa dance in 2012 and Mary Yongai’s 2024 record for 111 cosmetic makeovers in 24 hours. Yongai’s record was also inspired by Hilda Baci’s cookathon and was later celebrated by President Bio as an achievement that inspired the nation.