I was so sad to learn of the premature death of my former colleague Steve Banwart, who was not only an excellent academic and visionary scientist but a fine human being. We worked together a decade or so ago to establish the first cross faculty agrifood research programme at the University of Sheffield. Steve’s pleasant and relaxed demeanour, his friendliness and sense of humour helped bring people together, contributing enormously to the success of the project, and making this one of the most enjoyable and rewarding periods of my career. His contributions to the field are immense and long lasting – he will be greatly missed.