What is the importance of the restaurant in the novel, Julie’s Unicorn?

Julie's Unicorn has five principal settings. The first is a restaurant, where Farrell, the chef, spots Julie dining with another man. The restaurant scene serves three purposes. The first is to introduce the characters, the second is to show that they have a long history with one another, and the third, not as important, is to show that Farrell is admired by the cooks who work for him, nearly idolized in one case.