SC legislators don aprons and talk politics in upcoming TV show

Yahoo

29-01-2025

Rep. Jeff Bradley, R-Hilton Head Island, and Rep. J.A. Moore, D-North Charleston, cook a meal on the SCETV show "Food for Thought" in 2023. (Provided/SCETV)
COLUMBIA — Republican Rep. Jeff Bradley wore a blue apron, while Democratic Rep. J.A. Moore donned a red one in the first episode of the show 'Food for Thought.'
'See, you're already wearing my apron today,' Bradley joked.
'You're wearing mine!' Moore replied.
The 30-minute show, which premieres Thursday night on South Carolina's public educational network (SCETV), is part travelogue, part cooking show and part political discussion. After sourcing local ingredients, Bradley, a 66-year-old white Republican from Hilton Head Island, and Moore, a 39-year-old Black Democrat from North Charleston, cook dinner for friends, then start a conversation about a divisive topic.
The goal is to show that it's possible to disagree about issues while remaining friends, the representatives said.
'I'm an old white conservative, and he's a young Black liberal,' Bradley said. 'Theoretically, we shouldn't get along, but we do.'
The idea had been on Moore's mind since he was first elected in 2018. As a professional chef, he knows the easiest way to start difficult conversations is over a drink or a delicious meal, he said.
'Not that you're going to have a drink with a person and they're going to agree with you on policy, but I think by having a drink or having a meal, you can make it more powerful to have those discussions that are otherwise defensive,' Moore said.
Moore had to first figure out what, exactly, that would look like. After considering a panel and a documentary, he landed on a TV show, which SCETV supported.
What he needed after that was a counterpart with whom he could have those tough talks.
Bradley seemed like a great fit. The two got along well, and Bradley was a passionate hobby cook. With his children out of the house, he does most of the cooking these days, he said.
Bradley also knows the power of a good meal to affect people's attitudes, he said.
'It's hard to be angry with anyone when you're sitting down and eating with them,' Bradley said.
During the first episode, over dishes of seafood and peach cobbler, Bradley, Moore and four friends dive right in with the topic of gun control. Is there a way, the representatives ask, that they might be able to prevent mass shootings without restricting access to guns?
The topic is a personal one for Moore, whose sister, Myra Thompson, was one of the nine worshipers shot to death at Charleston's Mother Emanuel AME Church in 2015. The massacre prompted Moore to run for office in 2018, when he defeated a three-term Republican incumbent by 5 percentage points.
'It was important for me, for the first episode, for it to be based in Charleston, for it to tell the story of why I got involved in politics, but more importantly, to have the conversation about gun violence and mass shootings,' Moore said.
Gun control is an issue on which Moore and Bradley have publicly disagreed.
When the House passed a bill allowing gun owners to carry a handgun in public without a permit, Bradley voted for it. Moore voted against it following an impassioned plea to his colleagues from the podium. The governor signed the measure into law last year.
Beginning with such a controversial, personal topic opens the door to potential future conversations about divisive issues such as abortion access, immigration and surgeries for transgender youth, Bradley and Moore said.
'Anything that's politically polarizing, that's what we want to talk about,' said Bradley, chairman of the House regulations and cybersecurity committee.
How to watch
Thursday, January 30, 8:30 pm on ETVHD
Monday, February 3, 9:00 pm on SC Channel
Monday, February 10, 12:30 pm on ETV World
Source: SCETV
With politics becoming more polarized across the country, Moore and Bradley wanted to prove a point on which South Carolina lawmakers pride themselves: No matter how contentious their debates may get, they can walk out the door at the end of the day and remain friends.
'You can have opposing views from someone, but you can do it, all pun intended, in a more palatable way,' Moore said.
Along the way, Moore and Bradley want to highlight different parts of South Carolina and the foods that make the state stand out. In the first episode, Moore and Bradley pay a visit to the family-owned Capt. Don's Seafood in Charleston's West Ashley district for mahi-mahi, shrimp and scallops, then Ruke's produce stand in Mount Pleasant for fruits and vegetables.
They make a final stop at Mother Emanuel on the peninsula to pick up a pot of Charleston red rice, a Southern staple, that Moore's family prepared.
'I want to highlight South Carolina and the beauty and the culture and food of South Carolina,' Moore said. 'That's as important to me as the political stuff.'
In the remaining nine episodes, which the two have yet to film, they might visit the Darlington Raceway, take a trip on Bradley's sport fishing boat or tailgate at one of the state's major public universities, they said.
Moore and Bradley are hoping to join up and cook again this spring, depending on their schedules at the Statehouse. Regardless of where they go and what they discuss, what they can guarantee is plenty of food.
'There will be peaches. There will be poultry. There will be BBQ. There will be strawberries,' Bradley said.