BAYAMBANG, Pangasinan, Philippines – This town is the new holder of the Guinness world record for the longest barbeque after townsfolk simultaneously grilled 24,000 kilos of tilapia in eight-kilometer interconnected grill pads Friday afternoon.
There were 8,000 grillers for the eight-kilometer Guinness bid, beating Turkey’s 6.116-kilometer long grill record.
The provincial government donated 40,000 kilos of tilapia, while the local government donated 10,000 kilos.
Mayor Ricardo Camacho told The STAR that participants cooked 24,000 kilos in the first round of grilling, which was officially entered for the Guinness bid.
Another 24,000 kilos were grilled in the second round, while the 2,000 kilos left were consumed during the street party after the competition.
Participants, visitors and revelers from 77 barangays were estimated at more than 500,000, Camacho said.
Camacho also said that he, like most residents, was “shocked, stunned and speechless†by the title given by Guinness adjudicator Seyda Subasi-Gemici, who personally came to the town to oversee the actual grilling. Gemici was accompanied by a geodetic engineer who surveyed the measurement of the interconnected grill pads.
“We will never forget this and we will maintain the grilling every year although with shorter length only,†Camacho said.
Gov. Amado Espino Jr., Vice Gov. Jose Ferdinand Calimlim Jr., businessman Cesar Quiambao, Camacho and other local officials led the lighting ceremonies. Bangladesh Ambassador John Gomes and former Pangasinan fifth district congressman Mark Cojuangco also joined the revelers.
On Feb. 11, 2008, the Sto. Tomas town of Pangasinan also got the Guinness record for the longest grill (3,803.96 meters) during its corn festival. Residents grilled 93,540 ears of glutinous corn on a 1,559-meter long grill traversing 10 barangays. It beat the previous record of 1,493.2 meters of grilled red meat of Monteviedo, Uruguay.
On May 3, 2003, Dagupan City, also in Pangasinan, got its Guinness record for the longest barbeque, with 1,007.56 meters of grilled bangus (milkfish) as part of the city’s Bangus Festival.