Ghanaian chef Ebenezer Smith, known as Millennium Chef Smith, has been exposed for forging a Guinness World Record for marathon cooking.
On Tuesday, Smith presented a certificate claiming he had set a new world record with an 820-hour 25-minute cook-a-thon, which ran from February 1 to March 6, 2024, during a press conference.
At the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, the chef declared, “Today is a day I will forever remember. I am incredibly humbled and honored to stand before you as the Guinness World Record holder.”
However, Alina Polianskaya, the PR Executive for Guinness World Records, confirmed to the BBC that Smith’s certificate was fake, stating, “No, this is not true at all. He does not hold the GWR title, and that is not our certificate. The current and true record holder is Alan Fisher (Ireland), with a cooking marathon of 119hr 57min 16sec achieved in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from September 28 to October 3, 2023.”
Following his announcement and display of the fraudulent certificate, Chef Smith was arrested for alleged fraud.
According to Ghanaian media, Smith was apprehended for “defrauding one of the sponsors, Amadia Shopping Mall, of his cooking marathon.”
