Over 72 relentless hours, an all-female team of professional chefs will stand over open flames at Lagos Fresh Food Hub to attempt the world’s first women-led Grill-A-Thon, turning heat, endurance, and sisterhood into a global statement for International Women’s Day 2026.
By Bunmi Yekini
The grills will roar long before dawn at the Lagos Fresh Food Hub, Idi-Oro, Mushin. Flames will dance, smoke will curl into the air, and a team of women, steady, focused, unflinching, will stand shoulder to shoulder, tongs in hand. At the center of it all is Ikhazuagbe Eshionebo, known widely as Chef Anani, preparing to make history.
From March 5 to March 8, 2026, Chef Anani will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest barbecue marathon by a team, aiming for 60+ hours, up to 72 hours, with an all-female crew. It is the first Grill-A-Thon attempt by a woman, deliberately timed to culminate on International Women’s Day, March 8.
“This is bigger than me,” Chef Anani says. “I want women all over the world to have something to celebrate on International Women’s Day. This is not just about grilling meat, it’s about women being seen, heard, and trusted with something demanding, public, and difficult.”
Fire, Focus, and Fine Print
Guinness World Records does not make it easy, and that’s the point. The current benchmark stands at 40 hours. Chef Anani’s team plans to push well beyond that, navigating strict rules: only two hours of rest every 24 hours, taken simultaneously by the entire team; every return to the grill must be together; and continuous documentation, from shopping and marination to storage and the final sizzle.
Cameras will roll. Crowds will film. Photographs will stack up. And crucially, every item grilled must be consumed, served on site or packaged and shared with institutions, including prisons. “There has to be proof,” Chef Anani says. “Nothing goes to waste.”
The menu is unapologetically bold: cow, goat, and ram, red meat only. The estimates are formidable: four cows, six goats, and eight rams over three days.
A Team Built for Endurance
The immediate grill team numbers three: Chef Anani and two women who trained with her at the same culinary school. “We’ve worked in commercial kitchens,” she says. “We know endurance. We know heat.”
Behind them stands a larger back-of-house crew, 80% women, many of whom have collaborated with her before. “When I’m tired, and I look back, I know they’ll be cheering me on.”
One of those women is Joy Osahon, also known as Chef Jorazy, a professional chef and longtime collaborator. “It was reflex,” she says of joining the attempt. “Chef Anani is determined. She’s inspired all of us. If we have each other’s power, we can do it.”
Another grill teammate, Favour Ogbonna or Waka Chef, doesn’t hesitate when asked about doubt. “If she believes in me, why would I doubt myself?” she asks. “This is about showing that women can do this, clearly, boldly, and without apology.”
Safety, Structure, and Support
The venue, a gated space with indoor and outdoor areas, has been secured free of charge, courtesy of the Lagos Fresh Food Hub, in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems. Safety plans are in place: barricaded grilling zones, professional chefs trained in food health and safety, standby medical support, and controlled crowd management.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms Abisola Olusanya, has pledged support. “From the moment I reached out, she was ready to help,” Chef Anani says.
On the execution side is Tantacom, a brand experience company and official partner for the attempt. With over a decade of event expertise and a history with Chef Anani through the Eko Flavours platform,Tantacom has mapped contingencies, staffing, security, and logistics end-to-end.
“This isn’t commercial,” says David Utehrun, Tantacom’s Business Development Manager. “Support is largely in products and services. Our job is to make sure nothing breaks, except the record.”
More Than a Record
Support is also coming from fellow food entrepreneurs like Olufadeju David, Creative Director of Akara Express, who sees the Grill-A-Thon as both personal and symbolic. “When something great happens to someone close to you,” he says, “it means yours is coming too.”
According to Favour, this attempt is about visibility, about challenging assumptions in a male-dominated culinary space. “When people see a male chef and a female chef, they assume the man is better,” Favour says. “This Grill-A-Thon changes that narrative.”
Chef Anani also has a message for young women: “You have strength. You can be seen. You can be heard. You can be so good at what you do.”
As the countdown begins, the grills are ready, the team is set, and Lagos is watching. From March 5 to March 8, the heat won’t just test endurance; it will illuminate what happens when women claim space, together, and refuse to step away from the fire.