Interview with Shona Jaray
By Shona Jaray
I studied to be a dietitian but eventually started up my own food business, opening a delicatessen and catering business in Karori. After 10 years of that I set up a private practice in Sports Nutrition at Wellington Sports Med Clinic and at the same time I joined my husband in the coffee business – we imported green coffee and roasted it for the hospitality industry, and imported coffee machinery.
I sold my nutrition practice in 2000 and concentrated on the coffee business until we sold that in 2003 essentially becoming “retired”. At this point we moved from Wellington to a lifestyle block in Reikorangi – a beautiful valley 10 km inland from Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast.
Once we moved, I would see people – clients from my nutrition practice and from the coffee business who would greet me and say “so, now you are not working, what do you do all day?”
On a 10 acre property, there is always plenty to do. We grow a lot of our own veggies, we have animals – little highland cattle – although my husband looks after them. We have regular house guests – friends to stay. I enjoy reading, good movies, and listening to classical music. I am also learning to speak Czech – it’s a challenge. I have an excellent teacher whom I meet up with once a week in Wellington.
I am currently the chairperson of the Judge Accreditation Panel for the Photographic Society of New Zealand (PSNZ) and along with Bruce Girdwood, run 3-4 training weekends throughout New Zealand per year. These aim to be an introduction to photographic assessment with an emphasis on respect for the photographer and the image they have made.