BIDDEFORD — Oysters with juniper oil and citrus, winter squash with pumpkin seed and fresh cheese, a warm onion and clothbound cheese tart, and creamy Maine grains with monkfish, mushrooms and egg yolk. These inventive dishes sound like something to be found in one of Portland’s posh restaurants.

Instead the are the product of the mind of award-winning chef Bowman Brown, co-owner of one of Biddeford’s newest restaurants, which opened on Dec. 5.

ELDA, named for the grandmother of the six-time James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef who was voted Top New Chef by Food and Wine magazine in 2011, is located at 140 Main St.

Bowman said his first foray into food prep was while he was growing up on a ranch in Arizona. At his family ranch, Brown got to see how to prepare local types of game.

Despite this experience, it wasn’t until the early 2000s while volunteering in Eastern Europe that Brown began to cook, he said. Due to the lack of nearby restaurants, Brown started cooking for himself. In doing so he experimented with different ingredients to improve his creations.

After returning to the United States, Brown started college, but his interest in cooking grew, he said, and he ended up at culinary school in Dover, New Hampshire.

After graduating from culinary school, Brown said he moved to San Francisco to learn from some of the great chefs in that area.

From San Francisco, he went to Salt Lake City where he opened his first restaurant, Forage, and was there for the next eight years.

Last year, Brown said he decided to move back to New England and pursue two of his ambitions. One was opening his new restaurant, ELDA, and the other was purchasing a farm in New Hampshire, which he is in the process of renovating into an inn/restaurant.

For his newest restaurant, which focuses on seafood and local ingredietns, Brown said he chose to locate in Biddeford for the “on the edge feel,” of the city, its history and where it is heading. Brown said the city’s direction allows for more creative food to be showcased.