Chef Failatu Abdul Razak bowing to the Gender Minister, Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection (GCSP) who double as the Member of Parliament for Walewale constituency in the North East region has donated a cash amount GH₵5,000 to Chef Failatu Abdul Razak in her quest to set a new record in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Minister made the donation on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, when she paid a working visit in the company of officials of her ministry to Tamale in the northern region to support the female Ghanaian chef in her 10-day cooking marathon.

In her remarks after the presentation, Hajia Lariba Zuweira seized the opportunity to encourage Ghanaian young men and women to also explore their potentials and do something different for themselves and the nation at large.

“We will use the opportunity to let the young ones know that [do something different] when your mother is teaching you how to cook, you stand to benefit from it.”

The Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister noted her outfit is ready and committed to partner with Failatu Abdul Razak to open up a cooking school where Ghanaian children can learn the trade emphasizing a lot of young ones don’t know how to cook.

For his part, Dr Arnold Mashud, a member of the cook-a-thon organizing team on behalf of the family and entire management of Madam Failatu thanked the Gender Minister for the gesture.

He said chef Failatu together with the entire team remain committed to put Ghana on the global map.  

Dr Arnold Mashud receiving the donation of the Gender Minister

“As a mother, we couldn’t have done this without your support. We appreciate what you have done for us and we promise to put Ghana on the map” he stressed.    

Meanwhile, Chef Failatu has surpassed the current Guinness cook-a-thon record held by Irish Chef Alan Fisher, who cooked for 119 hours and 57 minutes.

The mother of one has done over 200 hours and running with the massive support from individual Ghanaians and organizations across the country trooping into the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, to cheer her up.

She initially targeted to cook for an estimated period of five days from January 1, to January 5, 2024 but subsequently extended the exercise by additional five days and now expected to end on January 10.