Zao, a Jedi Master of the Veknoid species, was both blind and advanced in age. This male figure was also a highly skilled chef. During the closing years of the Galactic Republic, he dedicated his service to the Jedi Order. Eschewing assignments from the Jedi High Council, he instead let the Force guide his path as he journeyed across the galaxy. The taste of Zao's culinary creations, whether delectable or distasteful, served as a reflection of the consumer's inner harmony with the Force. Despite his lack of sight, he was a dangerous and capable fighter, wielding his unique long-handle lightsaber with remarkable precision.
Zao, a Veknoid sensitive to the Force, underwent training in its ways by the Jedi Order. He achieved the rank of Jedi Master before losing his sight. As the influence of the dark side of the Force grew, Master Zao ceased accepting official missions from the Jedi High Council. Instead, this Veknoid Jedi traveled according to what he perceived as the Force's guidance, moving between worlds in accordance with its currents. At some point, Zao crafted a blue-bladed lightsaber cane, employing it as a walking aid, a weapon, and a tool for cooking.
In 30 BBY, Zao worked as a chef for Gorto Zaga, an Aqualish crime lord residing on Kiffex. Through his cooking, Zao sought to impart his philosophy: the flavor of the food, whether pleasant or unpleasant, depended on the consumer's internal balance. Those lacking harmony with the Force would find the food repulsive; those with good balance would find it enjoyable. Zaga, being an unethical criminal, found Zao's cooking disagreeable.
After leaving the crime lord's service, Zao encountered Quinlan Vos, a Jedi Knight searching for his missing Padawan, Aayla Secura. Believing the Force had orchestrated their meeting, Zao assisted Vos and Master Tholme in repelling Zaga's guards. However, the Anzati, the planet's feral inhabitants, soon attacked the Black Hole cantina. Discovering that Secura was leading the feral Anzati, Vos and Tholme resolved to free her from the dark side's control. Zao then departed from the other Jedi and left the planet.
A decade later, when the Clone Wars began between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Zao invoked the Right of Denial and refused to fight. The Veknoid believed the war directly opposed the Force's will. Instead, Zao continued his interstellar wanderings. The High Council heard from Zao so infrequently that many presumed him dead. By the last year of the war, Zao had established a food stall in the streets of the capital city of Saleucami.
During his time on Saleucami, Master Tholme stumbled upon the elderly Veknoid's food stand and shared a meal with his former colleague. Investigating reports that Sora Bulq, a Dark Jedi, was assembling a large army of cloned Morgukai warriors, Tholme sought Zao's assistance. Despite Zao's belief that the Order was wrong to serve a corrupt Republic, the old Master agreed to direct Tholme to the hidden entrance of Bulq's underground cloning facility.
Weeks after his meeting with Tholme, the Republic and the Jedi Order were destroyed by the schemes of the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, who was actually Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith. Despite the continued presence of members of the Grand Army of the Republic on Saleucami and their new standing orders to kill all Jedi, Zao managed to avoid detection. Disguised as a beggar, Zao's anonymity ensured his safety during this period.
Having survived the initial phase of the Great Jedi Purge, Zao remained hidden until he encountered Master K'Kruhk, a Padawan named Chase Piru, and nine younglings under K'Kruhk's protection in a refugee camp on Arkinnea. After briefly mentoring the younglings, Zao confided in K'Kruhk that he sensed great danger in the camp and suggested they leave immediately. The Jedi escaped the encampment. K'Kruhk then stole a wagon while Zao led the younglings to gather food from the farmlands. But as they made their way into the mountains, they discovered that the militia had massacred the refugees and dumped their bodies there. They were soon spotted by the militia. K'Kruhk tried to draw them away while Zao escorted the younglings to safety, but the militia captain Relik sent a group to kill them. While fleeing, Zao and the others encountered the native Yunu, who were also subject to the militia's attacks. Zao defended them all by pulling a boulder out of the ground. He told the younglings to flee, but one of them, Sidirri, pushed the boulder onto the militia in anger, killing them.
The Yunu brought the Jedi to an abandoned Jedi outpost, and soon K'Kruhk also joined them. There the Jedi were able to hide from the Empire for several years. Sidirri eventually ran away, and Zao left to find her. His fate is unknown.
Zao, a powerful and enigmatic Jedi, depended on the Force to manage nearly every aspect of his life due to his blindness. He was skilled with his lightsaber staff, despite his blindness. He also created a soup that, according to him, was completely in harmony with the Force: those who tasted it experienced different flavors depending on their own balance within the Force. Tholme and T'ra Saa, for example, thought it was delicious, while Quinlan Vos tasted nothing, and Vilmarh Grahrk found it disgusting.
In combat Zao could deflect a blaster bolt from an Arkinnea Militia soldier, and telekinetically "squeeze" a rock formation out of the ground to act as a shield. He was also a skilled telepath, as he aided Tholme and T'ra Saa in their efforts to help Quinlan Vos remain in the light.
Zao's name is derived from "Tao," an Eastern philosophical system. The principles of Tao closely resemble Zao's beliefs.
Originally, Zao was intended to die in Darkness, but according to Jan Duursema, the artist, "Zao would have been toast in Darkness, but we were asked not to kill him."