In both cases you’re heating up food to change it in some form, but cooking changes it in a good way that maintains (or enhances) its flavor and nutritional value, while burning destroys the food.
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Food is actually a tissue either from a plant or an animal. Every tissue contains proteins and other structural molecule complexes such as cellulose. When cooking, heat transforms the proteins, this process is called denaturation. Cellulose otherhand, don’t get that affected from heat at cooking heat. Heat also destroy cells in the food and makes a goo of cellular fluids. Sometimes that goo contains some chemicals that stimulates our taste buds and it feels tasty. Denaturated proteins especially in meat gets softer as its form is distorted, its ability to maintain structure of tissue is impaired. This is why cooked meat is softer than raw meat.
Burning food is applying too much heat and getting more drastic chemical reactions. Proteins are charred and most water evoporated in burning food. Burned residue has chemical potential energy still, but our digestive system aren’t compatible with that kind of material. Even that residue contains harmful molecules, some of them even can lead to cancer.
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