A herstory of A Ilegítima

A Ilegítima officially opened in May 2021 but has been growing with Anne Colin since 2012.

At the time, Anne was living in Paris with her husband, working as a lawyer and shifting towards the culinary world. In 2015, they decided to embark on a year-long food trip. They sold everything and got on the road, going across Europe and South America. Throughout their time, they kept a blog tracking their journeys and experiences both as eaters and as pop-up chefs. They were only supposed to stop in Portugal for a bit and keep going. But riding into the Alentejo sunset, they decided to stay and continue exploring Lisbon and all it has to offer.

They started working as private chefs and ran an upscale catering business, working over 250 events as Maison Legrand. As a duo, they worked in gastronomical catering, as private chefs, and held a food truck, all with the goal of opening a chef’s table in Beato/Marvila together. They found that in Lisbon, many high-class restaurants and popular tabernas already existed, but it was hard to find a young style inbetween. So they decided it was an opportunity for them to participate with their own signature in the local food scene.

In 2016, their son Archibald was born and they soon invested in a house and restaurant space in Beato, the current home of A Ilegítima. This project went from being a joint adventure into Anne’s passion project.

For a couple of years, Anne focused on self-exploration and on her mental health after a divorce and belated post-partum depression. During this time, she started understanding the potential of a space run by a woman who knows everything she knows in the kitchen and in life through first-hand experience. She always felt like an imposter as a chef, and with A Ilegítima, she realized her bold creativity is the strength she was meant to share with others. A Ilegítima has become a space where she is delivering high-end meals and beautifully curated events while also opening and encouraging creative kink exploration and empowerment.

Through her professional experience in marketing and communications for Maison Legrand, as a wedding planner, private chef, and event producer, she knows how to put together a good event. She openly shares her own spiritual journey she has undertaken since she separated in 2019, within which she goes deep into questions surrounding relationships, pleasure, and sex. Her ultimate goal is to become a sex therapist and open a retreat in Alentejo. For the next few years, she is dedicated to A Ilegítima, nourishing and growing it as a casa das experiências.