A Nigerian baker, baking coach and recipe developer, Chioma Prisca Okeahialam, is putting finishing touches to her preparation for a 24-hour bake-race challenge during which she intends to bake and teach 50 of her amazing recipes.
The Imo State-born baker, known professionally as Da Recipe Queen, says her zeal to embark on this challenge was fired up by the success of Chef Hilda Baci’s cook-a-thon.
“I have always dreamt of taking up a great challenge in the baking industry. I have always thought of doing an exceptional thing that will boost the courage of the ordinary baker. Then after watching Hilda Baci’s cook-a-thon event, it really boosted my confidence and revived my strength to take up this great Bake Race Challenge,” she says.
Da Recipe Queen has fixed 22-23 July 2023 for the baking challenge that will take place at Welcome Centre Hotels on Airport Road, Ikeja, Lagos and is inviting cake lovers to join her at the venue as, according to her, it’s free entry, no registration, no gate fee, and there will be lots to learn, lots to eat, lots to drink, lots of people to meet, free cake tasting, etc.
Even though she has applied to the Guinness World Record (GWR) and is awaiting a response, Chioma, who has been baking for 15 years, says the baking challenge is not about the GWR and she would go ahead with or without GWR approval. For her, it is like a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme for the baking community.
“I want to expose bakers to the power of multi-tasking by baking and at the same time imparting knowledge in a pre-defined time. This would encourage them to take up multiple orders that are time-bound and to finish them in record time. And lastly, I want to boost the image and reputation of the baking industry in Nigeria and the world at large,” she says.
If she succeeds, Da Recipe Queen would have set a new record because, according to her, no baker has ever baked and taught 50 different cake recipes in a pre-defined time.
“Even in the GWR, the longest baking marathon by an individual was done in 31 hours and the lady only baked 2,500 cookies but here, I’m baking and teaching people 50 different cake recipes. So, that’s more challenging,” she says.
The title of her challenge is bake-race and not bake-a-thon, and she chose that advisedly, especially with the almost childish rush of cook-a-thons by chefs intending to break Hilda Baci’s record even before she got the crown.
For her, setting or breaking a record is not something one just wakes up one morning and jumps into – it entails a lot of hard work, commitment, resilient spirit, and physical and mental preparation.
“I didn’t just wake up to do this. I bake and teach bakers on a daily basis, so the only difference here is that this time around, the challenging part here will be that I will baking and at the same time teaching these recipes in a pre-defined time,” she says.
For upcoming bakers, she has this to say: “They should always know that a dream is not achieved through magic, it takes hard work and determination to make it become a reality. So, whatever they wish or dream to achieve as a baker, they should work towards it.”
Chioma’s bake-race challenge will be streamed live on her Instagram page (@darecipequeen) and her Facebook page (Bakers Corner with Chioma Ontopclassics).
