“I like to eat, that’s why I like to cook,” Howard said, laughing. “ If I like to eat, I better know how to cook, right?”

It was his mother who exposed him to the culinary world.“I learned by absorption—watching her cook and seeing what she was doing,” he explained. 

Thanks to her, family dinners also made up a significant part of Howard’s childhood. He recalled, “We always ate together, regardless of when and no matter what we were doing.”

Even as he got older and TV dinners became more common, the tradition continued. 

“They were always Saturday dinners,” he continued. “Since my dad worked out of town, he would only be home on the weekends.”

Without fail, a rib roast appeared on the table each week.  

“Me and my brother-in-law would starve ourselves for the whole day and just wait til it was time to eat,” he said. “And after Mom would cook, I would always gnaw on the rib bone.”

“For my family, I made that our kind of holiday tradition meal,” he explained—instead of the traditional poultry or ham, Howard’s family makes rib roast. 

“I convinced [ my wife’s] family that rib roast was much better than turkey for Thanksgiving, " he said proudly. 

Howard recalled one memorable family reunion with a particularly elaborate spread (“It was like ten or twelve courses!”), complete with menus designed by his son Jonathan. 

“The last thing we put out was the rib roast,” he laughed. “And someone looked at the chicken and the fish and said, “On top of all this!?” 

Throughout his life, Howard has always seen a special kind of significance in the act of gathering to eat. 

“I appreciate eating as it associates with all the family times where you get to be together. It brings back good memories,” he said. “As Dad would say, how else would you actually teach your kids and talk to them?”

“You teach them at the table.”