Alan Fisher, an Irish chef and owner of Kyojin Stewhouse in Tokyo, Japan, has achieved two records by breaking Guinness World Records titles for the longest cooking and baking marathons, respectively.
According to Guinness World Records’ announcement on Tuesday on their official Twitter page and website, the first of these records was the “longest cooking marathon (individual),” for which Alan Fisher spent a 119 hours and 57 minutes in the kitchen, surpassing the previous record of 95 hours and 40 minutes held by Nigerian chef Hilda Baci.
Alan’s cooking marathon extended for over 24 hours beyond the previous record, earning him the title.
Following his cooking marathon, Alan Fisher embarked on another challenge: the “longest baking marathon (individual).”
Over a period of 47 hours and 21 minutes, he baked various dishes, outdoing the former record holder Wendy Sandner from the United States, who had set the record at 31 hours and 16 minutes.
According to Guinness World Records, “What’s even more impressive is that Alan took on both attempts back to back, meaning he was at work in the kitchen for over 160 hours with just over a day of rest in between!”
Alan Fisher’s journey to becoming a world record-breaking chef began in 2008, the year of his graduation from Dublin City University.
He started abroad through an overseas graduate program, leading him to Japan, where he received a job offer in Tokyo.
Over the years, he established himself in the city and met his wife, who would eventually become his business partner.
Despite finding success, Alan said he felt a desire for a new challenge and decided to open his restaurant in August 2014, focusing on Irish food and culture.
Kyojin Stewhouse, Alan’s restaurant, showcases traditional Irish household staples such as stews, soups, homemade bread, and potatoes, creating an Irish dining experience for customers.
Alan Fisher’s journey to break these records began during the “I Love Ireland” festival in Tokyo when he learned about the longest cooking marathon record.
He was inspired to take on the challenge by the achievements of previous record holders, Lata Tondon and Hilda Baci.
His decision to attempt these records came during a challenging period for his restaurant, which had suffered due to pandemic-related restrictions.
Reflecting on his decision to undertake the record-breaking attempts, Alan said, “Lata and Hilda’s achievements served as an inspiration. I wanted to channel my frustration and negativity into something positive.”
The road to achieving these records was far from easy, with meticulous planning and a commitment to ensuring that all the food he prepared was used. The local TV provider, TSK, played a crucial role in helping Alan film the record attempts for evidence.
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During the marathons, Alan faced various physical and mental challenges. While baking, he said he experienced back pain due to manually mixing dough, and during the cooking marathon, fatigue and sleepiness became increasingly difficult to overcome.
“I peeled roughly 300 kg of potatoes during the cooking marathon. For the first few days, I would look forward to this each evening as it gave me a chance to sit down.”
“Towards the end of the cooking marathon however, as fatigue started to take hold I would find it more and more difficult to stay awake whenever I sat down to start peeling. The rhythm of the peeling would almost hypnotize me. I had one hallucination on the second-to-last day. I turned to ask someone to pass me something, like I would on any normal day only to realize there was no one there,” Alan revealed.
Despite the challenges, Alan says it was the people of the town who supported his record attempt who gave him the push to carry on.
“It got to the point where I definitely couldnāt give up. In my mind, I was representing myself, my family, and Irish food, and through these attempts, I was sharing our story.
As time went by it became clear that many people in Matsue were also wishing me well. As if I had been adopted into this community over 9,000 km from my home. How could I not persevere? That was the only option.”
After nine days of cooking, Alan had produced 357 kg of soda bread and 590 kg of various dishes, totaling 3,360 portions featuring 32 recipes.
The culmination of his endeavor came when he received two Guinness World Records certificates.
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