Always a coastal citizen, Ike Seaman grew up on the East Coast of Canada where his family owned small cottages and a fish n’ chip shack at Summerville Beach, Nova Scotia. He would sweep floors and peel potatoes for ice cream; they eventually progressed to prep cooking and serving (his favourite) to earn spending cash.

It was the love of the ocean and surfing that brought Ike to Tofino in 1994, as he saw the West Coast as the “Hawaii of Canada” where he could surf year round in the warmer Pacific rather than turn into an ice cube in the frigid Atlantic winters. Ike bought a beat up old van from a friend and the pair picked up another friend for the drive from Nova Scotia to British Columbia.

The love of hospitality brought him to the Wickaninnish Inn. In 1997, he convinced the McDiarmid Family to bring him onto the team as a server and he quickly moved up to trainer, Sales & Catering Manager and Restaurant Manager. Ike did take a small break in hospitality to pursue a lifelong dream of running a commercial fishing boat, and spent two years with Pete White, a legendary fisherman on the coast. After his time on the open ocean, Ike returned to his first love of hospitality and serving as the Food and Beverage Trainer then Wine Manager in The Pointe Restaurant.

In 2010, Ike was promoted to Director of Food and Beverage and encouraged to pursue his passion for wine and developing the wine list at the Inn. He received his Level 3 Sommelier Diploma from the International Sommelier Guild in 2013, and later that year was honoured to be listed as a "Premier Crew" member in the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.