Ilson Gonçalves Leads A Sumptuous Samba To Healthy Dining

BY JOSEPH PASTRANA

In the age of the influencer, everyone and their brother is angling to be a celebrity. And chefs are no exception. There’s one born every minute on cooking competition shows. But there are celebrities and there are leaders. And it’s as much a test of leadership how one acts when in an influential position as how one reacts when challenges arise. Ilson Gonçalves is without a doubt a leader.

Proprietor and chef of beloved Brazilian restaurant Samba Montclair in New Jersey, Ilson has certainly risen to many challenges from the moment he decided to immigrate to the US at 23 years old. Although he had a Computer Engineering degree and was employed in a bank in his native Brazil, he couldn’t imagine crunching numbers for the rest of his life. On vacation in New York, like so many before him, he felt an irresistible urge to stay. “I quit my entire life by phone,” he laughs. Alas, New York proved to be too expensive even for someone fearlessly starting over. “I settled just across the river in New Jersey where there was a large Brazilian community. I got a job as a dishwasher in a Portuguese restaurant and eventually worked my way up to be manager.” In time, he was able to buy a deli and reopened it as Samba Montclair in 2010.

In cooking Ilson found his true calling. “My mother ran a restaurant in Brazil called Paladar, and when I was a kid I helped in the kitchen, pretending I was a chef. She taught me a lot from practical things to being particular about the quality of the ingredients. I also learned that food has soul, and you have to learn how to listen and talk to it. If you take care of the food with love and passion, it will come out well.” He was also aware that “There were already too many delis in town, so over the course of a year, I went from adding in Brazilian items, like Pao de Queijo, or little cheese breads to Brazilian dinner specials, to transforming the whole menu to be fully Brazilian.” And so, Samba Montclair was born.

Naming the restaurant Samba Montclair was a tribute to his heritage and honor the community where it’s located. He explains further, “Samba is such an important dance in Brazil and around the world. I wanted to say, ‘Let’s dance, Montclair!’ I knew Samba would t into the community here. I still shop for many special Brazilian ingredients in the Newark markets. Montclair is a progressive and welcoming community. It’s only about 35 minutes by train from NYC, so we attract a lot of people from all over. We also get a lot of people who move, when they’re ready to leave the crazy pace and nightlife, settle down, maybe buy a house, and start a family, and that includes many LGBTQIA+ people who, like me, feel comfortable here. I’m happy to say my customer base is very diverse and reflects the community itself.”

The next challenge came with the pandemic and just trying to stay in business after the lockdown. It was further complicated when Ilson was unexpectedly diagnosed with celiac disease and food allergies. Drastic changes had to be made to his diet, omitting all wheat, soy, and corn among other gluten foods. “Because I am at the front of the line, I have a policy of never serving anything at Samba that I won’t eat myself, so I went through a rigorous process of turning the restaurant into the only fully certified gluten-free establishment in the state of New Jersey.” Ilson is proud to say, “There was nothing like Samba in the area, and many of the Brazilian restaurants in Newark are very meat-heavy, focusing on rodizio-style cooking.”

As a result, he also had to alter his already published recipe book while remaining authentic - now in a new edition called “The Samba Montclair Gluten-Free Cookbook”. At first there was concern the restaurant might lose customers. “But we actually gained a new loyal following,” reveals Ilson. The surprise is that people aren’t likely to even discern a difference in the taste of the cuisine. In the meantime, proud mãe Nilsa Hostins visits a few months every year and even helps in the restaurant. And Ilson also celebrated another personal milestone when he got married to his partner Yasar Sakman in a romantic beach ceremony in Miami.

He’s always led his life by example and today he’s sharing his culture with the community of his new home. “I discovered that my role in life is to feed people,” says Ilson. And he’s made it a mission to donate meals to local organizations. in how I conduct my business and my life. In Brazil, it wasn’t safe to be gay, so I had to hide my true self. Even now, it’s still not nearly as accepted there as it is here. I always lead with being a good human first, then a gay man. Now all the parts of me are much more integrated and public and fully empowered.” Now that’s a true leader.

JOSEPH PASTRANA is a New York-based fashion journalist, public relations consultant, and the author of the nonfiction fashion must-read “Homespun - True Tales of Tweed”. His extensive professional experience encompasses working with a wide range of fashion, beauty and luxury lifestyle brands. He was previously fashion director for trade publication MetroStyle for which he covered seasonal Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and has written profiles and reviews on designers and collections including Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Bill Blass, Van Cleef & Arpels along with stories on Saks Fifth Ave, Sotheby’s, Louis Vuitton, Patek Philippe and many others. Today, he is a iliated with Mannfolk PR in publicity and brand development projects while continuing to cover fashion, art, interior design and luxury. He is also currently working on his next book for literary imprint house Thane & Prose.