Latest news with #Darling
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DWP boss Liz Kendall under fire for 'ignoring' disabled people over PIP cuts
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) boss Liz Kendall has been blasted for failing to consult disabled people on planned Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit benefit cuts. Liberal Democrats MP Steve Darling slammed DWP minister Ms Kendall, asking: "What went wrong?" Ms Kendall replied: "Forgive me for not agreeing with the characterisation that you put forward. I have never started with pound signs or spreadsheets. "I've always started with what I believe can help people with long term health conditions and disabled people build a better life for themselves." Mr Darling asked twice: "Why did you ignore disabled people?" READ MORE: DWP breaks silence on how welfare bill will impact Blue Badge holders READ MORE: New sicknote rules in England with GPs less likely to sign people off READ MORE ISA change announced by Rachel Reeves handing savers extra £9,000 The DWP minister replied: 'We are not ignoring disabled people. They will be at the heart of the Timms review." She said: "This department ends up picking up the pieces of the problems that are deep rooted from many other government areas and we've got to change that. "Poor health, poor opportunities, low skills, not enough jobs. Those are the problems we have to tackle together. We are at the sharp end of it." She added: "We have to start shifting resources into the things that really help create better lives for people. "We are spending I believe too much on the costs of failure, and not enough on the better health, better jobs, better skills that we need. That is extremely difficult to shift because people rely on those benefits and they've built their lives around them. "But unless we grapple with this, benefits alone is not the solution to a better life." She said: I think action speaks louder than words, we have taken action to tackle child poverty." Mr Darling asked: "Can you explain why you haven't published the child poverty strategy so far?" He said: "You are very well avoiding it. Why haven't you published the child poverty strategy?" Ms Kendall replied: "We want to get this right, we understand there will be funding implications and we think its really important that we spell out a comprehensive strategy. But we have not had slippage on tackling child poverty, we're putting that into action."
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP boss Liz Kendall in clash over benefit cuts - 'why did you ignore disabled people'
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said welfare reforms were in 'the right place' after a 'bumpy ride' - which saw the Government gut its legislation to avoid a Commons defeat Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has been accused of failing to consult disabled people on planned benefit cuts during a fiery clash. Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling confronted the Cabinet minister over the disastrous plans to slash £5billion from the welfare bill, which were gutted to see off a Labour revolt. Proposals to cut Personal Independence Payments (PIP), the main disability benefit, have now been shelved until a review is conducted by DWP Minister Sir Stephen Timms next year. At a hearing of the Work and Pensions Committee, Ms Kendall said the scaled back plans were in "the right place" now but admitted it had been a "bumpy ride". Mr Darling, who is registered blind, said Ms Kendall had promised last year that reforms would not be led by cuts. But the green paper published in March amounted to the deepest cuts in a decade, he said, adding: "What went wrong?" Ms Kendall replied: "Forgive me for not agreeing with the characterisation that you put forward. I have never started with pound signs or spreadsheets. I've always started with what I believe can help people with long term health conditions and disabled people build a better life for themselves." But Mr Darling said disabled people were not consulted on the changes to PIP ahead of time. Ms Kendall said her department was consulting with Parliament and there were a number of committees looking at it in collaboration. Mr Darling asked twice: "Why did you ignore disabled people?" The minister replied: 'We are not ignoring disabled people. They will be at the heart of the Timms review." More broadly, the Work and Pensions Secretary argued that the Government was spending too much on the "costs of failure" and her department was at the sharp end of people who were suffering from poor health, lack of jobs and lack of skills. "This department ends up picking up the pieces of the problems that are deep rooted from many other government areas and we've got to change that," she said. "Poor health, poor opportunities, low skills, not enough jobs. Those are the problems we have to tackle together. We are at the sharp end of it." Ms Kendall admitted the welfare legislation had been a "bumpy ride", adding: "We have to start shifting resources into the things that really help create better lives for people. We are spending I believe too much on the costs of failure, and not enough on the better health, better jobs, better skills that we need. "That is extremely difficult to shift because people rely on those benefits and they've built their lives around them. But unless we grapple with this, benefits alone is not the solution to a better life." Ms Kendall was also challenged over the Government's delayed child poverty strategy, which is now expected in the autumn. However she denied there had been "slippage" in the Government's efforts to help the 4.5million children living in poverty. She pointed to action such as the recent expansion of free school meals to kids in Universal Credit households and free breakfast clubs as a "down payment" on tackling the issue. In another clash, Mr Darling said: "Childhood is a really short period of time, we're letting our children in poverty down, why is the Government doing that by not publishing as it promised previously?" Ms Kendall replied: "I think action speaks louder than words, we have taken action to tackle child poverty." He asked again: "Can you explain why you haven't published the child poverty strategy so far?" She replied: "Would you like me to answer the question?" The MP retorted: "You are very well avoiding it. Why haven't you published the child poverty strategy?" Ms Kendall replied: "We want to get this right, we understand there will be funding implications and we think its really important that we spell out a comprehensive strategy. But we have not had slippage on tackling child poverty, we're putting that into action." She added: "I am very proud of the start we have made, we have got a hell of a long way to go. But I think we've had some down payments on our chid poverty strategy and myself and Bridget Phillipson will forging forward to do even more in the autumn."
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Brian Callahan wanted to be the next Bob Dylan. Instead, he became a big-time bartender.
You've worked at lots of interesting places. But tell me about Darling. There are two of us, Zimu Chen and me. I'll be the owner and also in service on the floor, starting out in a beverage director-ish kind of role. Darling is a cocktail bar, a small plates restaurant. It was inspired by the phrase 'kill your darlings,' which I interpret as a creative approach to operating without attachment, having the ability to not put boundaries on the cocktail menu and change it at whim. Advertisement I really just wanted to do something that utilized a lot of really interesting seasonal ingredients and didn't want to have a ton of rules around it. People knew the space as for so long. How did you come to find this space and settle on this location? I came across the space through [real estate advisory firm] Graffito. We'd been trying to find a space for about a year-and-a-half to two years. Advertisement We knew MIT was the owner. When we first inquired about it, we thought it was out of our league. You know, it's MIT; they probably want somebody with a lot more concepts and a lot more experience. But we also felt like our concept really fit well in the space and in Central Square. We got the opportunity to go speak with MIT and explain our concept and who we are. We put together a whole presentation and everything, and they ended up picking us. We were obviously over the moon — and a little bit surprised. When you say that MIT owns it, who did you have to pitch your concept to? I picture a bunch of scientists and professors. They have a whole real estate investment team, but they were incredibly down to earth. We went up to their offices, and it kind of felt like you were on 'Shark Tank,' just pitching your idea. I had a PowerPoint and everything, and it was intimidating. These people are incredibly smart and successful. I'm just a bartender — not just a bartender, but I wasn't a businessman like that. That was the intimidating part of it. We really learned all this stuff on the fly. We had to learn how to write a business plan, a pitch deck, and everything. We had to learn how to read legal documents and negotiate a lease. Hopefully, if there is a next time, it'll be much easier. What was your elevator pitch? We came extremely prepared. We made it clear that we really wanted it. And we explained that Mary Chung was a neighborhood restaurant. It was a family-owned restaurant: The community, the people who came there, knew the people who owned it. They knew their faces. They saw them there every day. And that was what we were. We're not a family restaurant, but we're going to be here every day. We're going to be the faces who people come in and see. We own the restaurant. We'll be bussing tables. We'll be talking to people. We really played up that we had a lot of desire to build a neighborhood restaurant, not just a business. Advertisement Dim sum and drinks at Darling. J-M Leach Did you always want to work in restaurants? Definitely not. I got a job when I was home for the summer during college as a busboy in Stamford, Connecticut. I went back to school that fall and lied on my resume a little bit to get myself a serving position at an Applebee's. Restaurants for the first six or seven years were just a means for spending money. I was trying to be a musician. I play guitar. I was into folk music. I wanted to be Bob Dylan. When it was clear I wasn't good enough for that, I tried to work in the music industry. When I moved to Boston, I was working out of this guy's apartment, booking shows and doing marketing for super local artists. I got paid 50 bucks a week. I was at Grafton Street then, serving. When a barback position opened up, I kind of thought it would be something cool. That's really when things clicked: the dynamic of being behind the bar as opposed to serving tables on the floor. Advertisement This was in the 2010s, when it felt like bartending was really starting to become something that you could make a career out of. I put all my eggs in that basket, and I just went for it. How do you think the Boston hospitality scene has evolved since you arrived in the city? Guests are so much savvier than when I first started. That goes for the industry, too. We've all kind of grown together, as bars start to evolve. Guests become more acclimated with certain techniques and ingredients and stuff. The people who are coming up now are just very impressive. I think people are very loyal to spaces they work at, but they also treating [themselves] as a brand as well, and that's something I was never very good at. If you had to classify Darling as a brand, what's the tagline? Man. I'm still kind of trying to figure that out. We just want to be a cool but unpretentious place to hang out. We want to be a neighborhood cocktail bar, a place where people feel like they can come in whatever form they're in, dressed up or dressed down, to have a cocktail or to have a full dinner. I don't know if that's the perfect answer. There are no perfect answers. What did you learn from working for Tiffani Faison at Tiger Mama? That was definitely a pretty major introduction to the showbiz-y side of the industry. When I came to Tiger Mama, I didn't know who Tiffani was. I was just looking to work at a cool bar, and I didn't really have enough experience to work there. I got pretty fortunate. Advertisement I'd never watched 'Top Chef.' That was all very out of left field to me. To see people in the restaurant wanting to take pictures with her was a little confusing at first. As I grew in that company and got closer with her, and started to go to certain events and everything, she showed me what's possible — again, how to treat yourself as a brand. Like I said, I don't think I'm very good at it, but I definitely learned a lot about that from her. Your expertise is hospitality and drinks; you're not a marketing expert. I think it would be hard to do both. Some people seem to be very good at it and make it look very easy. Even now, I'm doing a lot of social media for Darling, and I'm just kind of winging it. Some people can go in and make all these cool reels and videos and everything. I said this to someone the other day: I feel like my parents, when they don't know how to use a phone or an app. How important do you think social media and branding is in this era of restaurants? Or does it matter as much as we might think it could? I think it does matter. I think it probably doesn't matter as much as maybe sometimes we make it out to seem. One of the challenges I've always had, especially as a younger bar manager, was just paying a lot of attention and putting a lot of energy into 'best of' lists and attention on social media. You kind of start to feel like, if you don't have that, then you're not doing a good job. But then people are coming into the bar and they're having a nice time. But you have this feeling of ... for me, a lot of the time at Tiger Mama was: We were busy, people loved the drinks and everything, but I had this feeling of emptiness, because I didn't feel like I was having all of those [social media] things. Advertisement And after COVID, I really got rid of all that: I just don't care anymore. Who do you really admire now? Who are people to watch? What Ryan Polhemus is doing with Offsuit is really impressive. I've had the ability to work with him as I've been getting ready for this. I learned a lot from him about running a more cocktail-focused space. I just think he's extremely creative and talented when it comes to cocktails. The guys over at Tall Order, Daren [Swisher] and Joe [Cammarata], were going through a lot of the process of opening restaurants around the same time. I like observing them as bartenders who have gone on to owners. It's definitely been very encouraging and informative. I think what they're doing is really great. Where do you hang out when you're not working? I've been in Andover, and I have a 2-year-old, so I haven't gone out in about two years. But we just moved to Watertown. I lived for a while in Somerville, and I love Sarma. It's probably my favorite restaurant in the city. Offsuit is probably my favorite bar in the city. And I think Koji Club is doing a lot of really cool stuff. It's definitely a neat space for Boston. And I think what the team does at Spoke in Davis Square is really exciting. What do you love to eat? Pepperoni pizza is a big one. I was fortunate to live not far from Garlic Breath when I was up in Andover, which became my go-to. I've also been really just crushing PB&Js lately like nobody's business. Crunchy or creamy? Creamy. Any great hangover cures? I did get pretty hung over back in January, and I forced myself to run three miles the next morning, which was terrible, but then I felt pretty great. And then I went out for some spicy food and had a cheap lager. I would say that's my new plan. I actually felt surprisingly great. Usually, my hangover cure is to just lie on the couch and be miserable and not talk to anybody or do anything for the whole day. There's been a lot of reporting that Gen Z than previous generations. How has that influenced your work? Or is that not something you notice day to day? I mean, it definitely seems to be real. It's definitely something I think a lot about, especially opening a bar right now. We're putting a lot of attention into NA beverages. You have to put the effort into that, in today's industry, if you want to be competitive. How do you balance work with a 2-year-old? It's honestly been really tough. I'm actually getting a little emotional: It's been, definitely, the hardest two years of my life. I have a really great partner and a really great support system, and that's the only way that it's possible. My wife is incredible. When I was working on this space, it was tough. I was doing a lot of the R&D and everything from home. I'd get up with him; we'd put him down for a nap at 10; and then I'd run downstairs, work on an ingredient or jump on my laptop and fire off a bunch of emails for the hour-and-a-half that I had while he was asleep. I underestimated how difficult it would be. You just kind of figure it out. On that note: Favorite drink? A gin martini. Interview was edited and condensed . Kara Baskin can be reached at
Business Wire
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Darling Ingredients Inc. to Release Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results
IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) announced today that it will host a conference call on Thursday, July 24, 2025, at 9 a.m. Eastern Time (8 a.m. Central Time) to discuss second quarter 2025 financial results, which will be released earlier that day, and provide an update on company operations. A presentation with accompanying supplemental financial data will also be available at To access the call as a listener, please register for the audio-only webcast. To join the call as a participant to ask a question, please register in advance to receive a confirmation email with the dial-in number and PIN for immediate access on July 24 or call 833-470-1428 (United States) or 404-975-4839 (international) using access code 972161. A replay of the call will be available online via the webcast registration link two hours after the call ends. A transcript will be posted at within 24 hours. About Darling Ingredients A pioneer in circularity, Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) takes material from the animal agriculture and food industries, and transforms them into valuable ingredients that nourish people, feed animals and crops, and fuel the world with renewable energy. The company operates over 260 facilities in more than 15 countries and processes about 15% of the world's animal agricultural by-products, produces about 30% of the world's collagen (both gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen), and is one of the largest producers of renewable energy. To learn more, visit Follow us on LinkedIn.
Eater
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
A Cocktail Bar With Dim Sum To Debut Next Week in Central Square
A menu of craft cocktails and dim sum that doesn't take itself too seriously is headed to Central Square on Wednesday, July 16, from local restaurant veterans Brian Callahan and Zimu Chen. The new cocktail bar, called Darling (464 Massachusetts Avenue) — a reference to the phrase 'Kill Your Darlings' meaning don't be precious about your creation – is located in the old Mary Chung's space, which has seen a complete overhaul. 'I thought of Central Square being, you know, quirky. It's vibrant, it's a little weird,' Callahan (previously of Row 34 and the now shuttered Tiger Mama and Orfano) told Eater. 'We wanted Darling to have character, we wanted it to have a lived in feel, but we also wanted it to feel kind of nice. So I think there's a really nice balance in the space.' The team took down the old wallpaper and found exposed brick walls that they left in place. They also commissioned a partial mural from artist Julia Purinton. The interior sign at Darling. J.M. Leech The dining room at Darling. J.M. Leech Food is traditional dim sum style, according to menu, created by Executive Chef Mark O'Leary (previously of Shojo, O Ya, and JM Curley), will blend nostalgic American dishes with Chinese dishes – think filet o' fish bao – along with favorites like tonkotsu xiao long bao, red braised pork ribs, and egg custard tarts. The libations include dazzlers like a clarified milk punch drink called Hope I Packed a Parachute, a cognac and condensed milk cocktail inspired by Hong Kong French toast that's fittingly called HK French Toast. A low ABV drink called Sweep the Leg employs a fairly modern cocktail technique called the switching method: To make this cocktail, Valdespino Fino Inocente sherry is frozen, and the water content is removed and replaced with housemade tomato water, resulting in a briny, tart cocktail that Callahan told Eater is 'really nice, delicate, but with touches of umami and vegetable notes.' Callahan and Chen (formerly of Eastern Standard, Coquette, and Mariel) emphasize impermanence and experimentation. They're planning on switching out specials daily, and are hoping it encourages a dialog between the bartenders and the guests. 'If they have a drink that they like, and then come back and it's gone, they might be bummed,' Callahan told Eater, 'It's our job to make sure we have something else on the menu for every type of person, so they can find something new – we'll have seasonal ingredients on hand to make something similar – opening up a great conversation.' The cocktail bar is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5pm to 12am, Friday and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Reservations are available via Resy. The Common Trope cocktail. J.M. Leech
