The shoppers at Sears today looked confused. They were trying to make their way to the hardware department but couldn't ignore what was going on in the middle of the aisle between mitre saws and TVs. Who was that handsome young man and what was he cooking that smelled so darn good?

All summer long, Chef John Murphy has performed live cooking demonstrations in an effort to win online votes for the national Sears Chef Challenge. A total of 24 chefs from four cities (DC, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles) were selected to compete to be the nation's next "up-and-coming" chef while raising money for food banks or charities they choose.

The other DC-area chefs are Jennifer Huey, who is self employed, and Molly Pisula, a personal chef and owner of Vanilla Bean Cuisine Personal Chef Service. Each chef will post his or her challenge videos, recipes and more to the Chef Challenge website as well as their respective Facebook and Twitter pages. Online votes will determine which chef advances to the semi-finals.

Each chef must complete four challenges at special live demonstrations conducted at Sears locations in their home region. This afternoon, Murphy finished the last of his four cooking demonstrations at the Sears at Westfield Annapolis Shopping Center. Murphy revealed that he and his then-fiancee lived locally on Primrose Court for about a year. Still, his local connections weren't enough to draw a crowd since his demo was unfortunately scheduled right before a Navy football game.

The menu today included a duo of crepes, one with a sweet-sour lemon curd with raspberry puree and a hickory "smoked" savory sweet potato that featured hickory-smoked bacon and caramelized onions.

Murphy prepares meals for homeless people as the assistant director of kitchen operations at Miriam's Kitchen in Washington, DC. He is hoping that his participation in the challenge will help "validate what nonprofit chefs do." Miriam's Kitchen supports local homeless people by providing meals (including a breakfast program), case management and transitional housing. Although Murphy works for a "soup kitchen," the food he prepares at Miriam's Kitchen isn't the standard slop in a bowl. He's gained a following on Twitter for his mouth-watering menus. Murphy recognizes the importance of using food that's locally grown and produced. He also specializes in making healthy comfort food.

Murphy's menu tweets include healthy, hearty breakfasts such as ricotta crepes with fresh strawberries, scrambled eggs with veggies, roasted potatoes and fruit salad. He makes homemade jams and apple butter. A recent dinner menu tweet included lasagna, garden salad with creamy chard and onion dressing, roasted veggies, melon, and pumpkin chocolate-chip cake.

The challenge has wreaked a tiny bit of havoc on Murphy's personal life since he had to delay his honeymoon to participate in the challenge. He did his first cooking demo the weekend after he got married. However, his wife is understanding and very supportive. She sat in the front row today and didn't even wince when he admitted to taking herbs from "Mrs. Murphy's garden" without her permission.

Murphy hopes that he'll get enough online votes to advance in the challenge. The four quarter-final winners in each round will receive:

• An additional $5,000 for their chosen food bank or food-related charity
• One Kenmore kitchen appliance of their choice (refrigerator, range, dishwasher, microwave or hood)
• A trip to Chicago to compete in the Chef Challenge semi-finals

Once all four challenges have been completed, challenge videos for each chef will be posted to the Sears Chef Challenge website, as well as the Blue Appliance Crew's YouTube Page. The chef with the most votes from each city will advance to the semi-finals. Voting begins Sept. 25 and continues through Oct. 9. If Murphy makes it all the way and wins the top prize, Miriam's Kitchen will get $20,000.

"Each meal we prepare costs a $1 per plate," he said. "So $20,000 means 20,000 meals."