Ghanaian Chef Ebenezer Smith arrested over Guinness World Records dispute

Ghanaian chef Ebenezer Smith, who claimed to have broken the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest cooking marathon by an individual, has been arrested.

In its Tuesday report, Asaase Radio—a privately owned radio station in Accra, broke the news.

The radio station stated that the chef was arrested and detained at the La police station on Tuesday, shortly after he announced his achievements during a press conference in the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.

The chef was arrested for allegedly defrauding one of the sponsors, Amadia Shopping Mall, of about GHC350,000 from his cooking marathon.

BBC reported that the chef’s lawyer, Kofi Awoonor, said on Tuesday that the arrest stemmed from a disagreement with the lead sponsor of the cook-a-thon.

GWR debunks record

Similarly, according to BBC, the PR Executive for Guinness World Records, Alina Polianskaya, has debunked Chef Smith’s claim, stating that it is not true and the certificate he displayed is not theirs. Chef Smith displayed what he claimed was the GWR certificate, affirming that he had broken the record.

She added, “The current and true record holder for the longest cooking marathon (individual) is 119 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds, achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from 28 September to 3 October 2023.”

Mr Fischer broke Nigeria’s Hilda Baci’s record. Ms Baci broke the record on 15 May 2023, hitting 87 hours 50 minutes above the previous record holder in 2019.

Chef Smith claimed to set a new GWR for the longest cooking marathon by an individual.

The Ghanaian claimed he cooked for 802 hours and 25 minutes straight, lasting 33 days.

Chef Smith kicked off his cooking marathon for the longest cook-a-thon by an individual on 1 February and wrapped it up on 5 March.

The cook-a-thon was held at the Amadia Shopping Centre in Spintex, Ghana.