Born ins SF and raised in the North Bay and Folsom, Mark Liberman actually spent his youth watching old PBS cooking shows, playing GI Joe with his brothers and being a competitive gymnast. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and has never looked back.  

He has had the privledge of working for Chefs Roland Passot, Daniel Boulud, Joel Robuchon and Luciano Pellegrino to name a few. He has opened restaurants for other chefs and with partners in various cities but Mägo is the first solo one.

Theresa Liberman, co-owner and Mark’s wife, will be teaching classes and sharing her cheese expertise through Mägo’s educational programs. A User Experience Researcher at Google without a professional culinary background, Theresa developed her knowledge of cheese by taking classes at the San Francisco Cheese School. Between educational classes and research, she has taught herself about the vast world of cheese and will be designing the cheese program on the menu at  Mägo in addition to creating educational courses for kids and adults to share her knowledge of various types of cheeses, how to select cheeses and the best ways to serve it.

Born in the rural Midwest with a farm upbringing, Ben began working in the kitchen as his first job. Like most chefs, he started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to running his own team. Having moved to Scandinavia in his early 20’s to be closer to his dad, Ben began his working tour in top-tier Michelin starred restaurants, including Noma and The Ten Bells. In 2013, he moved to the bay area and worked at Quince prior to AQ, where he met Mark Liberman. Ben's most recent position was running the modern french bistro Monsieur Benjamin of the Benu restaurant group. He is excited to join the team at Mago Restaurant and reunite with Mark, to explore and create some magic in Oakland.

A.J. grew up in the spooky forests of Vermont, where he made friends with slugs, owls, and Bernie Sanders. After moving to California with a rock band, he decided to double down on cliche and wait tables too! That path led from Hayes Valley brunch to Michelin-starred fine dining, sommelier training, and finally to his current happy place: dreaming up egg white cocktails and extolling the endless virtues of a properly made daiquiri.