The Legend of Jean LaFoote

By Heather Taylor

Ahoy, 360 readers! You know all about Horatio Magellen Crunch, AKA Cap’n Crunch, and his adventures across the Milk Sea in the S.S. Guppy but what about his greatest nemesis, the pirate Jean LaFoote? If you’ve never heard of him, let us take you on a voyage of discovery to learn more about the character and how he even received a spin-off cereal of his own, Cinnamon Crunch.

Created and designed by Jay Ward and Bill Scott for the Quaker Oats Company, Jean LaFoote’s name played off of real-life pirate Jean Lafitte. The swashbuckling icon began making commercial appearances as early as the 1960s where he was known as “the barefoot pirate.” LaFoote wore a red tunic, blue shorts, and a pirate’s hat. He also had a golden earring, mustache, and occasionally carried a silver sword around with him.

LaFoote’s primary goal was to uncover the secret of what makes Cap’n Crunch crunchy and how the cereal stayed crunchy after you poured on the milk. Cap’n Crunch explained to LaFoote that the “corn for crunch and oats for punch” were the two nourishing grains that kept the cereal crunchy, but everything that happened after the milk had been poured was a secret.

LaFoote would go to extreme measures to swipe the precious cargo including wrapping up his feet and stuffing the Cap’n Crunch’s ears with cotton so he wouldn’t hear him sneaking into the S.S. Guppy. Cap’n Crunch and his friends, including the Crunchberry Beast and Sea Dog, would foil LaFoote time and time again. LaFoote always paused to eat a bowl of cereal and Cap’n Crunch would catch him in the act saying, “You can’t get away with the Crunch, because the crunch always gives you away!”

Despite his goofy antics, LaFoote wasn’t a true scallywag. After years of rejection, he would finally receive his own cereal, Cinnamon Crunch, in the 1970s. This cereal was made from corn and oats with an added pinch of cinnamon and sugar. LaFoote believed in his own cereal so much that he even says in this spot lightning can strike him down if it isn’t the greatest cereal in the whole wide world. As we can see, well, maybe it’s one of the greatest cereals in the world!