H and H Coffee

Dedicated to the history of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. founded 1899 in San Antonio, Texas.

Jordan Sawyer (“the Master Chef”)

Jordan Sawyer — the named brand-mascot persona for Master Chef Coffee in the Continental-era San Antonio market. Identified consistently as “the Master Chef himself” in two December 1966 San Antonio newspaper sources, in both editorial and ad photography wearing a tall chef’s hat and white coat, holding the new color-keyed Master Chef cans.

Role

Sawyer is a brand persona — an in-person, photographed individual who plays “the Master Chef” character in marketing photography and (likely) in-person promotional events.

  • 22 December 1966 San Antonio Light p. 32 — “Master Chef Color Provides Key” (HH-CLIP-1966-0002). Caption identifies him as “the Master Chef himself, Jordan Sawyer” in a portrait alongside Jack Moore (president, Master Chef Food Products Corp.) displaying the new color-keyed cans.
  • 30 December 1966 San Antonio Express p. 17 — “Master Chef Expanding” (HH-CLIP-1966-0003). Photo caption: “COLOR-KEYED CAN — Jordan Sawyer, the ‘Master Chef,’ presents the new color-keyed Master Chef can.” Body text records Sawyer (“the Master Chef himself”) and Karla Kreft (“the Master Chef girl”) joining Moore and Warren Burns in San Antonio to kick off the expansion program.

Context

Sawyer is the first documented Master Chef brand mascot on this site. The mascot concept is consistent with H&H’s earlier brand-persona traditions (Texas Girl named for Helen Hoffmann; Sam Houston brand mark) but unique in being a costumed live spokesperson rather than a wordmark.

Whether Sawyer was an employee actor (e.g. a real chef hired for the role) or a paid spokesperson / brand-ambassador is undocumented. The “chef’s hat and white coat” costuming fits the Master Chef brand identity that had been documented in advertising photography since at least the 1932 Open House.

Open questions

  • Was “Jordan Sawyer” his real name or a brand-character name? The 1966 articles treat him as a real person, but a brand-persona pseudonym (similar to “Betty Crocker”) is plausible. Texas vital records, SA city directories, or business-press references could disambiguate.
  • How long did the Sawyer-as-Master-Chef persona run? December 1966 is the documented launch window with the color-keyed cans. Whether Sawyer continued appearing in 1967-1968 Master Chef promotions (the H. L. Green and Handy-Andy 1968 grocery ads don’t show photography) is undocumented.
  • Promotional ephemera? A costumed live spokesperson typically generates promotional photographs, point-of-purchase displays, in-store appearances, and (in the mid-1960s) possibly local TV ads. Surviving examples in San Antonio area collections or news photography morgues would be high-yield finds.

See also