Wednesday, March 12, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
If you can find a job doing something you love, you'll never work another day in your life.
Or so the oft-quoted, seldom-followed bit of contemporary wisdom goes.
Even before John Geislinger heard the modern-day proverb, he believed it. But he still wasn't sure doing what he loved would pay the bills.
"I didn't know enough about the field to know that I could make a living at it," said Geislinger, who's had to simplify his life on a salary that has gone from the high to the low five-figure range.
Having invested six years in college acquiring a "triple bachelor's" in business, accounting and math, Geislinger left a lucrative 10-year career as a certified public accountant to pursue his passion: food.
It's a passion for craftily prepared fine cuisine. He won't commit to a dish or variety of food he likes best, but says his current interest is Southwestern entrees that use chiles. The trick is he likes to hide the heat, so you get the sensation of it without it "blowing you away."
Despite the fact that he makes a third of the salary he garnered in the business world, he says he couldn't be happier or more satisfied with his profession.
"It started when I was 11 or 12 and started helping out my mom in the kitchen," Geislinger said. "Then one day she had the bright idea to give me a cookbook for my birthday and the rest is history."
He was the oldest boy of eight children.
"I learned that I loved food and loved preparing it for others. The only word to describe it is passion," Geislinger said. "I'll never look at a meal the same way again."
Geislinger now works as a food service worker at the Community College of Southern Nevada where he is completing the culinary program under the tutelage of "Chef Joe," otherwise known as Giovanni Delrosario.
Geislinger and four of his classmates -- Elsa Heird, Daniel Galan, Jonathan Rougeau and Tobi Ross -- were awarded $500 scholarships Tuesday from the Sunset Station hotel-casino. The Henderson casino is set to open with 830 food and beverage employees this summer. Most scholarship recipients also received job offers.
This year, the school's culinary club will compete in the National Restaurant Association's conference in Chicago and participate in a 10-day culinary tour of France.
Geislinger plans to complete the college's culinary program in December, but he hasn't made any commitments for the future.
He doesn't predict ever returning to accounting full-time, but "I love numbers and I know how to run a business, which will come in handy one day when maybe I can own my own restaurant."
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