Bosnians boil biggest broth for record bid

Bosnian chefs cook in a Guinness Book of World Records attempt yesterday for the largest chicken broth, in a central square of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

Reuters/Sarajevo

Aromas of comfort food wafted through Sarajevo’s central square yesterday as Bosnian chefs cooked what they said was the largest-ever chicken broth, in the hope of scoring a Guinness World Record.Exactly 4,124kg (9,092lb) of “Bey’s Broth”, a national speciality first made for aristocrats known as Beys during the Ottoman era, was cooked in a 2.5m diameter pot made especially for the occasion.“We chose Bey’s Broth because it is Bosnia’s unique and most famous dish,” said Zaim Merdan, the chef in charge of some 100 cooks preparing the food: one tonne of chicken, 350kg of vegetables, 120 litres of oil, 100kg of flour, 50kg of butter and plenty of milk, eggs and cream.The idea was to promote Bosnian cuisine during a competition of chefs from southeast Europe, the Global Chefs Challenge semi-finals, taking place in Sarajevo.The Bosnian Association of Cooks, which said the previous world record for the largest chicken dish was 4,036kg, will send all data and recordings of the process to the Guinness judges, hoping to take the title.Hundreds of onlookers watched the cooking process, waiting to taste the broth. More than 16,000 portions will be handed out to visitors to the square and to soup kitchens.“It must be good,” said Ferida Avdibegovic, a pensioner, carrying a plastic box to take the broth home. “This is a great idea, it promotes our cookery, our cuisine and our country.”