- Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian culinarian, Damilola Adeparusi, popularly known as Chef Dami, has recalled her ordeal years after her infamous Cook-a-thon attempt.
Recall that Chef Dami had in June 2023 made headlines on social media following her attempt to break the Guiness World Record (GWR) set by Nigerian celebrity chef, Hilda Bacci, with 120-hour cook-a-thon challenge.
Hilda Bacci had just set the then new Guinness World Record (GWR) of 93 hours 11 minutes marathon cooking in May 15, 2023- barely a month before the Ekiti-born chef’s attempt.
The timing of Chef Dami’s attempt to break the Hilda Bacci’s record which was barely a month had sparked controversies and mixed reactions with the Ekiti-born chef coming under fire.
With GWR not recognizing her attempt which reportedly broke Hilda Bacci’s, Chef Dami was subjected to cyber bullying which lasted for months.
Reflecting on the experience in a recent interview, Chef Dami admitted that the cook-a-thon and social media left her broken.
As captured in a snippet of the interview shared on X on Wednesday, she disclosed being subjected to further bully and assault in real life.
“Assuming you asked me this question two years ago or a year ago, I might be crying and not be able to answer.
“You can see that I’m smiling. I’m happy that I can talk about this thing without crying.
“There was a time in my life that I was just telling God that can this wait a bit? Can I at least forget somethings? At times I feel overwhelmed.
“I’m like God can I forget a little bit about what I experienced, talk about the cyber bullying. The cyber bullying was just a little compared to what I experienced in real life.
“I was bullied and assaulted in real life. I was broken. The social media broke me.” She said.
While narrating how she developed her passion for cooking back in school, Chef Dami disclosed that her parents were unaware of her cook-a-thon attempt until they saw her on social media.
She also expressed her shock when she realised that she had gone viral.
“My interest in cooking started when I living as a student. Even the cook-a-thon this thing, I didn’t know it was going to be viral. I didn’t tell my parents about it. They just saw me.
“I was even shocked when I saw myself on social media.” She said in the clip.
Meanwhile, Hilda Bacci’s record had since been broken with Ireland’s chef, Alan Fisher, currently holding the record with 119 hours and 57 minutes marathon cooking.