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 report on Tuesday, Asaase Radio, a private radio station in Accra, broke the news.
The radio station said the chef was arrested and detained at La Police Station on Tuesday, shortly after announcing his achievements during a press conference at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.
The chef was arrested for allegedly defrauding one of the sponsors, Amadia Shopping Mall, of approximately GHC350,000 from his cooking marathon.
The BBC reported that the chef’s lawyer, Kofi Awoonor, said on Tuesday that the arrest was due to a disagreement with the main sponsor of the cooking marathon.
Chef Smith GWR debunks record
Similarly, according to the BBC, Guinness World Records PR executive Alina Polianskaya has debunked Chef Smith’s claim, stating that it is not true and that the certificate he showed is not from them. Chef Smith showed what he claimed was the GWR certificate, claiming that he had broken the record.
He added: “The current and true record 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.”
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Fischer broke the record set by Nigerian Hilda Baci, who set it on May 15, 2023, by 87 hours and 50 minutes over the previous record holder, who had achieved it in 2019.
Chef Smith claimed to have set a new GWR for the longest cooking marathon completed by one person.
The Ghanaian claimed he cooked for 802 hours and 25 minutes straight, over a period of 33 days.
Chef Smith began his longest cooking marathon ever undertaken by an individual on February 1 and completed it on March 5.
The cooking marathon was held at the Amadia Mall in Spintex, Ghana.