On November 15, Maliha braced herself to endure 150 hours of cooking to break a record of 119 hours 57 minutes, 16 seconds set by Ireland's Alan Fisher on November 7.
Maliha was able to hit the 150 hour mark, beating her own 90 hours and 15 minutes record in 2019
On Saturday, April 13, Maliha took to social media to announce that she was disqualified for 1 error made during her rest break.
"It is with much sadness to inform my family, friends, fans, sponsors, followers, and everyone who showed love and support towards my journey in November cooking marathon. Upon my manager's advice, I have to let you know I was disqualified for 1 error made during my rest break. I am not okay right now. I ask for your forgiveness to have let you all down . It wasn't easy, but I know God has other plans for me in shaa Allah because what's meant for you will simply find you," Maliha announced.
GWR said that the disqualification was as a result of additional minutes that Maliha took, which were not accumulated.
"Unfortunately it's not permitted to make up rest break as it must only be accumulated. In the interest of fairness across all applicants, we can only approve a record when all the guidelines have been adhered to," GWR said in an email sent to Maliha.
Maliha had hoped to break the previous record of 119 hours, 57 minutes, and 16 seconds achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from September 28 to October 3, 2023.
Fisher had dethroned Nigeria's Hilda Baci who cooked for 93 hours, 11 minutes.
At some point during the cookathon, Maliha even experienced a health scare which saw her briefly faint and get whisked from the cooking venue by emergency teams.
Through it all, Maliha's team shared a video showing her lying on a stretcher attended to by what appeared to be medical personnel.
Undaunted, the chef bounced back not too long after, promising to soldier on to the end.
"I am a conqueror and a marathon runner. Nothing is bringing us down; to the finish line, we go!" she wrote.
Early on in August 2023, Maliha had made headlines by completing an impressive home kitchen cooking marathon lasting a remarkable 90 hours and 15 minute, surpassing the previous record held by Rickey Lumpkin II from Los Angeles, California.
he disqualification is a blow to Maliha and her fans, but she promises to bounce back stronger and more determined.
