In simplest terms, grilling requires cooking raw food over fire, a constantly shifting and potentially volatile element. Since no protein cooks the same, and vegetables react tenderly to the flames, getting used to the nuances of grilling requires intimate knowledge of the grilling surface itself.

“When you are grilling anything, you’re literally and figuratively playing with fire,” said Daniel Mangin, executive chef of American Elm, 4132 W. 38th Ave. in Denver. “It’s not about learning how to do it one time. It’s about learning all of the variables that come with it.”

After four years at the helm of American Elm, Mangin has familiarized himself with every square inch of his grill, typical to what you’d find in kitchens across the country: a grated surface over gas-burning flames. He com

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