About Vassar's Spice Co.

Vassar's Spice Co. started in a Chicago kitchen with a simple belief: everyday cooking deserves restaurant-quality flavor. My name is Johnnie Vassar, founder of Vassar’s Spice Co. As a chef and a contestant on Food Network’s brand-new series 100 Cooks, I’ve spent years chasing bold, honest flavor in the kitchen.

But the obsession started long before the kitchen. As a professional athlete, I learned that what you put in your body is everything. I became relentless about quality — reading every label, cutting out fillers and junk, and seeking out real, whole ingredients.

I gravitated toward spices that cultures around the world have prized for generations: warming ginger, allspice, cinnamon, turmeric-rich curry, and clove. Cooking for performance taught me that food should be clean, intentional, and never boring.

When I couldn’t find seasonings that met that standard — most were dusty, one-note, and full of salt and fillers — I started blending my own. Vassar’s is the result: the same care I brought to fueling my body, now in every jar.

We're starting with our Caribbean Jerk Rub — the blend friends and family kept asking for — with more spices on the way.

Welcome to the table.