Erected within the Temple Ziggurat, the refectories were destroyed and rebuilt several times in the Temple's long history, seeing completion in 1000 BBY under the Galactic Republic. In use for nearly a millennia after, the refectories serviced several generations of Jedi Knights throughout the Order's service to the Republic.
In 44 BBY the Temple was struck by a series of robberies and attacks that put the Jedi High Council on edge. While Jedi Master Ali-Alann escorted a clan of younglings to one of the dining halls via a horizontal turbolift car that ran over the Lake Level, the track became dislodge after sabotage by the Dark Jedi Xanatos, causing the car filled with younglings to hang precariously over the lake five stories below. Below, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bant Eerin raced to save the children and with assistance from the full High Council, were able to get all of the younglings out of the car. The clan decided to walk to the dining hall after the ordeal.
Following the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kit Fisto met in one of the Temple refectories before the Mission to Ord Cestus and shared a meal of and a plate of hawk-bat eggs, before taking an air taxi to Centralia Memorial Spaceport. Later, Jedi Anakin Skywalker would pass Master Taria Damsin and Padawans Biliril and Dorf after returning to the Temple from the Battle of Kothlis. While eating, Grand Master Yoda entered the hall and welcomed Skywalker back home. Yoda reminded the Jedi of their joint meeting with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine the next morning and told Skywalker to get sleep.
Within the walled kitchen gardens of the Temple, the young Padawan Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy would burn herself with her low-power lightsaber in preparation for the Apprentice Tournament of 19 BBY. During the tournament, Master Illena Xan held the final stage of the competition within one of the larger dining halls as the apprentices had complained that the other theaters weren't challenging or "real" enough.
A few months after the Tournament, the Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire and the Temple was declared an enemy fortress under Contingency Order 66. The 501st Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic, led by Darth Vader, stormed the Temple and executed its occupants, damaging the Temple in the process. The Temple's dining halls were largely ruined, yet due to Imperial occupation, at least one kitchen was maintained and debris had been cleared from its dining hall.
Shortly after the fall of the Temple, ex-Jedi Ferus Olin and his companion, Trever Flume, entered the Temple through one of the kitchen gardens in search of a rumored Jedi Prison. In one of the Towers the pair found the ruins of the garden of Yoland Fee, whose products would be served to the many Jedi of the past. After discovering the prison to be an Imperial trap, the two rushed out of the bowels of the Temple and used an airlift from the Storage Level to get into one of the kitchens and flee the pursuing stormtroopers. Olin would later return to the Temple and gain access to the interior through an abandoned breakfast room near the base of the High Council Tower. Olin would quietly reflect on the peace and serenity which had once filled the small chamber before the rise of the Empire.
The Temple sat in the hands of the Sith for several decades, guarded by the trusted Shadow Troopers of the Empire. When Darth Sidious and Vader were slain, the Empire lost balance and was eventually ousted from Coruscant by the New Republic. During the Yuuzhan Vong War Coruscant was devastated by terraforming, causing the Temple to crumble and reveal parts of the foundation. When the Galactic Alliance reclaimed the world, Chief of State Cal Omas, ordered the Reconstruction Authority to rebuild the ancient edifice as a gift for the great sacrifices made by the reformed Order against the Yuuzhan Vong.
With the Order under the leadership of Grand Master Luke Skywalker, the Temple was reinhabited and the refectories once more filled with life. In 43 ABY the Order was faced with a new threat when several Knights were stricken with an enigmatic maddness and were declared subject to Alliance imprisonment. Acting Grand Master Kenth Hamner had rejected the requests of Chief Natasi Daala to hand over the ill Jedi, yet he was forced to comply with Daala's demand that all Jedi be shadowed by a court appointed advisor. During the lunch hour of the Temple, High Council member Kyp Durron entered one of the chambers and activated one of the swing-out holoscreens on the wall; something that was usually forbidden. The display showed a news broadcast from the Galactic Courts of Justice Building detailing the overturning of the the rider. Moments later, Masters Durron and Cilghal were summoned to the Jedi Temple Main Entrance to deal with a group of Coruscant Security Force members attempting to force their way into the Temple.
Several days after the incident at the main entrance, Knight Jaina Solo had assisted the group Darkmeld smuggle the ill Seff Hellin into the Temple. Joined by former Jedi Tahiri Veila, Solo met in the common dining hall for a cup of caf, due to the chamber's relative emptiness and soothing atmosphere. Their peace was interrupted when Jaina's supervisor, Dab Hantaq appeared and upset Veila by his similar appearance to her former love, the deceased Jedi Anakin Solo.
Located throughout the Temple the refectories consisted of a kitchen and dining hall, and were serviced by supplies and ingredients from the Temple's Storage Level and the kitchen gardens. Like most of the Temple these chambers were, while designed for beauty, maintained a sense of utilitarian purpose and were connected to the service corridors.
Each dining hall was filled with long, trestle tables that were flanked by benches; holodisplays were hung along the pillared walls to show news from across the galaxy. Refuse stations were located around the room for the return of dishes and utensils, and the disposal of any waste. The halls were maintained by refectory droids capable of analyzing the content of the food trays. Hovering around the rooms, the droids would clear away any spills or forgotten dishes and dispose of any undesired waste.
In addition to the large dining halls, smaller breakfast rooms were in use around the structure for use by youngling clans during their early years of training. Small intimate chambers, Jedi Masters would visit the rooftop chambers and talk to the extremely young children. Transparisteel windows along the walls could rise into the ceiling to let in fresh air on nice days, giving the younglings a chance to experience a cool breeze while they ate in the safety of the Temple.
The kitchens were large, capable of servicing over a hundred Jedi at a time. Large stoves and ovens lined the walls and preparation areas had datascreens from which supplies could be summoned from the Storage Level. Airlifts from the Storage Level would jettison up requested ingredients for use in certain recipes. Maintained by Jedi and non-Force-sensitives alike, the Temple employees would work through the day to prepare the large meals needed to feed the Order's members. Servicing the kitchens, kitchen gardens were a quiet area where the food for the Temple was grown. Master Yoland Fee maintained a garden in the the Tower of Reconciliation where he grew herbs and spices for use in the kitchens.