Barbuto Chef Jonathan Waxman Has Two Rules for Grilling

The chef of the soon-to-be re-opened Jams in New York talks about his charcoal strategy, and how he handles business
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Jonathan Waxman was a Berkeley, California hippy who fell into the restaurant trade, running the kitchens at Alice Waters's Chez Panisse in the late 1970s and palling around with culinary rock-stars like Jeremiah Tower and Michael McCarty. Together they brought a relaxed, ingredient-focused sensibility to eating that came to be known as "California cuisine." His seminal NYC restaurant Jams closed in the '80s, but he kept in the game. He's been running the more Italian-focused Barbuto in the West Village since 2004 and last year opened Adele's in Nashville, Tennessee, which is named after his mother and features a giant wood-burning oven at its center. He's become the gentle grandfather of a new generation of chefs. As he prepares to reopen Jams in 1 Hotel Central Park this month, another Adele's in Toronto and a possible return to his home turf in San Francisco, Bloomberg Brief's Peter Elliot caught up with him at Barbuto.

You're a grilling master. What's the best advice for home grillers?