“I loved it and they loved me,’’ Seagram recalls of that time.

But there was far more love in the air than just mutual work appreciation.

Because it was here that Seagram met her future husband, Rod Ascui – which eventually led her to her adopted homeland of Tasmania, where she has since become a fierce advocate for the state’s food, hospitality and tourism industries.

“My Tasmanian husband was on a ski holiday in Canada when we met on the ski hill near one of the hotels,’’ Seagram, now 61, recalls. “He went home with more than a souvenir … and Tassie became my home.’’

She was quickly smitten with the tiny island on the opposite side of the world, where her husband was then running a small cafe in an old flour mill in Launceston (which later morphed into acclaimed restaurant Stillwater), while also establishing a small vineyard, Lalla Gully, in the Pipers River region in the state’s North East, which provided pinot noir grapes for Clover Hill sparkling wines.

But Seagram was perplexed – she couldn’t understand why this beautiful place, with pristine scenery and amazing local produce, wasn’t in the global spotlight.

“I arrived in 1992 and couldn’t understand why the rest of the world didn’t know about this special place,’’ she explains.

“So I made it my mission to tell the world about this incredible place. Having come from the tourism industry in Canada I took myself off to the first ‘independent tourism operators of Tasmania’ meeting in the early ’90s but they didn’t have a place for us – we had a cafe and a vineyard … we weren’t seen as part of the tourism industry. It was then I realised I had some work to do.’’

Her science background led Seagram to join the Vineyards Association of Tasmania, where she put her marketing and sales experience to good use promoting the state’s wine industry, making a significant contribution to strategy and marketing developments statewide and nationally.

That led Seagram into a number of other significant roles – she sat on the board for the Launceston Chamber of Commerce, she had a decade-long involvement as deputy chair of the Brand Tasmania Council and she was the director of the Tourism Tasmania board for eight years as well as spending four years as the director of the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania.

Seagram – who is the great-great granddaughter of the man who started Seagrams, once the world’s biggest alcohol producer – also teamed up with former Jansz sparkling winemaker Natalie Fryar to launch the Abel Gin Co.

Seagram was one of the founders of Launceston’s award-winning Black Cow Bistro, specialising in Tasmanian beef, and helped grow Stillwater into one of the nation’s top eateries – it was named the best restaurant in Australia in 2001 and 2002 and continues to be ranked as one of the country’s best.

“When we opened Stillwater, most restaurants were Italian, Greek, Thai or French … but I knew we had the best produce in the country and some of the best wines so it just made sense to make it Tasmanian … and brand the restaurant around local produce,’’ she says.

But Seagram’s impressive CV doesn’t stop there – she was one of the founders of Launceston’s Harvest Market and she was also instrumental in helping Launceston to earn its coveted title as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2021.

And now Seagram is excited to be launching her newest project, a $14m fermentation hub known as ferment hq, at Legana, which is being hailed as “Disneyland for foodies” and promises to become an internationally recognised centre for excellence in the design, production and marketing of fine fermented foods.

Tasmania is already kicking goals when it comes to wine production, Seagram says, but there are so many more fermented products created in Tasmania – such as cheese, beer, cider, sourdough, kimchi, miso, kefir, sauerkraut and kombucha – that deserve to be showcased to the world.

Set to officially open on August 2, to coincide with Launceston’s annual agriCULTURED foodie festival (which runs from July 31 until August 3), ferment hq is a 1800sq/m purpose-built facility at Legana’s new Innova Business Park, about 12km north of Launceston.

Established by not-for-profit organisation FermenTasmania – established in 2016 to accelerate innovation, growth and collaboration for fermentation-based enterprises across the state – the fermentation hub has been supported by local, state and federal government funding, with the land leased from West Tamar Council for $1 a year.

Seagram, who is chair of FermenTasmania, says the hub will be Tasmania’s new home for “innovation, collaboration and education” which will “drive the creation of jobs” and “offer a platform to build on Tasmania’s powerhouse reputation as a place of food and beverage excellence.”

She says the fermentation hub will provide a state-of-the-art home for makers to create new fermented products – and either birth new businesses or grow existing businesses.

The facility includes a full sourdough bakery with commercial kitchen, a dairy processing area, a winery/brewery/cidery/distilling space, a sensory product testing space, a co-working zone, a hands-on training/teaching area and a retail space for direct-to-consumer sales, including tasting opportunities.

Small to medium enterprises (and other interested parties) can apply to hire the spaces – for a day, a week, or a month – to produce, test and refine their products.

From the initial concept to testing, marketing and commercial production, Seagram says the fermentation hub will support producers through all stages of their journey.

It will also help lower the cost – and risk – for innovators entering the agrifood and beverage industry, while also making it easier for established producers who want to expand their existing product lines.

The production spaces are air-locked, with independent airflow systems, and there are hot and cold rooms, to either speed up fermentation or slow it down. Meanwhile research labs can be used for research and for testing things like sugar, acid and milk fat levels.

Partnerships with TasTAFE and the University of Tasmania – including collaborations with PhD students – will bring a range of specialised skills and knowledge to the fermentation hub and allow for cutting-edge research and development, while also providing hands-on training and presenting new career opportunities for Tasmanians wanting to work in the industry.

Seagram says whether Tasmanians want to pursue a career as a cheesemaker, a brewer, a kimchi maker or a microbiological research scientist, there will be new pathways available through the fermentation hub, which aims to partner with other organisations and provide internationally recognised certificates in brewing, cider making, dairy production and any other areas where there may be gaps in formal training.

She says the hub could support the wider community through initiatives such as OzHarvest’s Nourish program, which provides at-risk youth with culinary skills, or FermenTasmania’s Abled Kitchen program which empowers people with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities or autism by equipping them with food sector skills through a sourdough baking experience.

Seagram says the hub can be a leader in showing the rest of the world how Tasmania can process food and beverages with minimal impact on the environment.

And it is also expected to create “massive opportunities for collaborative research, particularly across other UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy’’ according to industry heavyweights such as Jordi Gascon, Senior Professor of Microbiology at the University of Burgos in Spain, who has labelled ferment hq “my ultimate Disneyland”.

Seagram says fermented foods are a hot topic globally right now.

“In the average diet, about 30 per cent of what we’re eating is actually fermented food products, and it’s anticipated that by 2032 that will be up to 40 per cent,’’ Seagram says.

And, as consumers across the globe are becoming increasingly aware of the gut/brain axis and the importance of the gut microbiome for both bodily and mental health, she says there’s never been a better time to nurture fermented Tasmanian produce and market it to the world.

“This represents an enormous opportunity for Tasmania to leverage its reputation,’’ Seagram says.

She says Tasmania has repeatedly proven itself on the global awards stage, with the state recognised for producing some of the world’s best wine and spirits which has forced the world to “sit up and take notice”.

“We punch way above our weight,’’ Seagram says.

“We can’t compete on scale but we can compete on quality.’’

She says one of the things Tasmania isn’t good at, is value-adding.

“Rather than just growing the best cabbages in the world we need to turn that cabbage into the best sauerkraut and kimchi in the world,’’ Seagram says.

And then it’s important to adequately market those products, which, she says, is where many small producers fail, as they are often overstretched and struggle to do everything themselves.

“You can’t just make a really good product, you’ve then got to sell the story and tell people why they have to buy that product,’’ Seagram says.

“You’ve got to turn it into an incredible offering that people will find irresistible.’’

She sees export opportunity for fermented vegetables, particularly organics.

“Australia is not a pickled culture,” she says.

“But if you look at a map – from Eastern Europe through to India, China and Southeast Asia and Japan – all eat fermented vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“Meanwhile, we’ve got a whole bunch of vegetables that don’t meet supermarket specifications.’’

Humans have been fermenting food and drinks for centuries.

“Fermentation is one of the oldest forms of food preservation,’’ Seagram says.

“It is that delicious alchemy that transforms primary produce into something that is a value-added product.’’

Fermentation relies on microbial starters – mostly bacteria or yeast – to transform a carbohydrate-rich base into an acid or alcohol, which then preserves the product.

And, Seagram says, fermentation typically makes things more delicious. Think about what’s tastier – milk versus cheese or grapes versus wine.

Seagram says more than 100 applications have already been received from those wanting to use the fermentation hub facilities, with about three-quarters being small to medium enterprises. “They’ve already got a product, they just need help to scale up,’’ she explains.

“To me, that’s the most exciting part.

“The project’s potential to create sustainable jobs and legacy businesses is boundless and an exciting prospect for the region.’’

Hire rates are $500 a day, $1700 a week or $4000 a month, and as FermenTasmania is a not-for-profit company, Seagram says any profits will go back into the industry, funding equipment, scholarships and other projects to help grow the future of the industry.

Many emerging small producers, working from home kitchens or converted garages, simply would not be able to afford to buy – or have access to – the sorts of commercial-grade equipment and expertise they can access in a day at the fermentation hub.

Seagram says the biggest problem with such high demand for ferment hq is that she might run out of space to accommodate everyone.

“But that’s a good problem to have,’’ she admits.

The fermentation hub has been more than 10 years in the making – Seagram was part of an industry reference group for the Centre for Food Innovation – a collaboration between the University of Tasmania, the CSIRO and the Department of Defence – when a 2014 report recommended a fermentation facility was needed in Tasmania’s north.

So, always keen to see Tasmania reach its foodie potential, Seagram set about making that facility happen.

And, after a decade of “good hard slog” she and her fellow FermenTasmania board members – which include representatives with a wealth of business experience, who have worked with local operators right through to major global food producers such as Kraft, Asahi Beverages and Mondelez International – are excited to soon be launching that facility with the world, as they prepare to unearth a raft of new Tasmanian businesses and product lines.

People are flying in from across Australia for the official launch of ferment hq on August 2 and Seagram says those who have already had a sneak peek of the facility in its final stages of completion have been “blown away” by what they’ve seen.

She is hopeful the hub will “put Tasmania on the map as a unique global centre for excellence in fermentation” and believes it “has the potential to bring generations of learning, businesses and investment to Tasmania’’.

Seagram says she initially studied biology to “help make the planet a better place” and she hopes that the fermentation hub will help do that.

Since she arrived in Tasmania 33 years ago she has had a strong desire to put “Tasmania on a plate” and while she is no longer involved with Stillwater or Black Cow, Seagram says her enthusiasm for showcasing the state’s wealth of wonderful produce hasn’t waned.

“This is to set up a legacy,’’ she says of ferment hq.

“This is about creating entrepreneurial culture and creating legacy businesses that can be passed down through generations. It’s about making sure that what we do, we do well. We’re not going to run out of people we need to feed. It’s a basic human need and it’s something we can build a future on.’’•

FermenTasmania’s new ferment hq fermentation hub is located at Legana, in the state’s north, and will be officially launched on August 2, as part of the agriCULTURED festival, which runs from July 31 until August 3. For more details visit fermentasmania.com or agricultured.com.au