Biscuit Baron

"If you want juicy conversation and a hot cup of ardees, come to Dexter's Diner. If you want a good cup of ardees, try Biscuit Baron."

- Slyther Bushforb

Biscuit Baron was a dining establishment owned by the House of Tagge through the Tagge Company's subsidiary Tagge Restaurant Association. With stores located on several planets throughout the galaxy, Biscuit Baron was, by the time of the Galactic Empire's prominence, the largest restaurant chain in existence. Sullust possessed one such establishment, as did Byblos Starport, Coruscant, and Commenor. Among the foodstuffs sold was the Bantha Breakfast Biscuit, its signature blue sauce, the alcoholic beverage ardees, and meal offers such as a QuickSnack, QuickSnackLite, and Jolly Meal. Non-edible products included spot-on locators&mdash;modified to announce the nearest Biscuit Baron&mdash;and, for a month during the events leading up to the Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars, commemorative holocubes representing key members in Republic history. The Bantha Breakfast Biscuit also played a major role in the crisis surrounding the planet Gastrula's demise, in the form of the Giant Amorphous Bantha Breakfast Biscuit, a creature formed by the combination of the foodstuff's ingredients and the atmosphere of Gastrula.

Description
Biscuit Baron was a food establishment which offered a wide variety of foodstuffs. The establishments were located on several colonized worlds, including the galactic capital of Coruscant, as well as the planets Sullust, Commenor, and Byblos. During the time of Emperor Palpatine's reign of the Galactic Empire, Biscuit Baron was the largest restaurant chain in the galaxy. Even so, there were places that Biscuit Baron's influence had not reached; Gastrula was one such place. Entrepreneur Bungo Bung, a Sullustan, exploited this fact by running his own delivery service between these planets and Sullust, earning a large profit by selling Bantha Breakfast Biscuits and their complementary blue sauce. Unfortunately for the people of Gastrula, one of the planets on Bung's run, the planet's unique atmosphere combined with the ingredients of the product to create a being that devoured the entire planet.

The restaurant was named for the title held by the leading member of the House of Tagge. A stylized logo of Baron Orman Tagge, chairman of Tagge Company, graced both signs at storefronts and crates of goods sold by the establishment; this logo was designed after Tagge lost his sight in 18 BBY, as it depicts him wearing his trademark goggles. The logo bore the name of the restaurant in the High Galactic Alphabet. The Tagge Company owned the subsidiary Tagge Restaurant Association which in turn controlled the Biscuit Baron restaurants. During the Separatist Crisis, the Chief Executive Officer of Biscuit Baron was Roridan Temquill; it was also during this time that a special "Heroes of the Republic" promotion was released.

Airspeeder pick-up lanes were common to Biscuit Baron establishments, allowing customers quick access to the food without leaving the comfort of their vehicle. The speakers mounted in such lanes were notorious for their bad quality. On Sullust, the Biscuit Baron building was cylindrical in shape and topped by a large dome; this dome possessed a large High Galactic Alphabet "B" as a way of identification. Further identification was provided in the form of a large sign bearing the Biscuit Baron logo located outside the main structure&mdash;this sign too bore the High Galactic Alphabet. Outside was parking for several landspeeders around the perimeter of the facility. Byblos Starport Tower 214, an immense structure on the Colonies world of Byblos with a vast number of amenities, boasted a Biscuit Baron branch on each of its 300-plus levels. Each individual branch itself contained several kitchens and an expansive dining area. These restaurants often attracted bulk freighter crews with little money to spend, as well as the newer captains. Also, modified spot-on locators were given away by Biscuit Baron; these customized units detailed the distance from the nearest Biscuit Baron in addition to their standard features.

Products
"Being a droid, Rusti, you fail to realize how good this is! You could compare it to the best oil bath you've ever had.''" "''Really."

- Bungo Bung praises the Bantha Breakfast Biscuit

Biscuit Baron offered several unique menu items to patrons. These included Bantha Breakfast Biscuits. Blue sauce, a condiment which enhanced the flavor of the breakfast biscuits, was served alongside. Jolly Meals were another product sold; its reputation in the galaxy was large enough for it to be used in even official documents as a descriptor. QuickSnacks and QuickSnackLites were served around the beginning of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY; during the same time period a special promotional deal was offered alongside the respective food bundles. Biscuit Barons served ardees, an alcoholic beverage; the restaurant had the reputation for selling a good cup of ardees, noted by private investigator Slyther Bushforb. In the time surrounding the Galactic Civil War, the food was so cheap, especially compared to alternatives, that five credits could buy a veritable "feast." According to at least one guide, however, the food itself was bland. Biscuit Baron's edible products, particularly the Bantha Breakfast Biscuit, possessed a long shelf life; for example, one crate of the product lasted through Imperial detainment and the hyperspace travel between Sullust and Gastrula.

Bantha Breakfast Biscuit
In addition to its remarkable longevity, the Bantha Breakfast Biscuit was also notable for an incident on Gastrula. Certain preservatives in the Biscuit reacted with the stale air of a starship and the Gastrulan atmosphere, causing it to experience a metamorphosis that, when complete, resulted in the former foodstuff becoming the semi-sentient creature known as the Giant Amorphous Bantha Breakfast Biscuit. This creature was shown capable of eating entire planets (as it had Gastrula), as well as the hull plating and other systems of a cargo barge. The giant being, however, was able to be defeated by copious amounts of blue sauce, the application of which resulted in the being's demise.

Promotional deals
"The goal is to educate young people, all people really, about the heroes and history of the last thousand years. It's a celebration of everything the Republic is and can be."

- CEO Roridan Temquill on the "Heroes of the Republic" campaign

During the events leading up to the Clone Wars, Biscuit Baron establishments around the galaxy offered a series of commemorative holocubes with QuickSnack and QuickSnackLite meals in accordance with their "Heroes of the Republic" campaign. While targeted towards the younger members of the galaxy, CEO Roridan Temquill admitted that it was hoped that all people would learn from the included informational holocubes. These holocubes depicted notable historical figures within the Republic, such as Supreme Chancellors Anwis Eddicus and Vaila Pecivas. Certain Jedi Masters, including S'diawae, Ikrit and Jojighar, were also featured. The promotion lasted one standard month and differed slightly from region to region.

Spot-on locators, whose use included pathfinding through unfamiliar terrain, were given out by Biscuit Baron establishments on heavily populated worlds. These location units, modified from the stock model, would call out the kilometers to the nearest Biscuit Baron.

History
Biscuit Baron was owned by the Tagge Company, under its Tagge Restaurant Association subsidiary, as early as 22 BBY. During this time, the company's CEO was Roridan Temquill. It was also during this time that Biscuit Barons began offering promotional holocubes, under the title "Heroes of the Republic," in an effort to teach about key figures in Republic history. By the time period leading up to and continuing into the Galactic Civil War, around 0 BBY, Biscuit Baron was the largest dining establishment in existence in the galaxy. Its appearance in the galaxy was so commonplace that colloquial references to it were made in official documents.

Behind the scenes
The concept of a galaxy-wide restaurant chain was initially brought forth in the Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook written by Michael Allen Horne and published in 1993, where it was realized in the form of Biscuit Baron. After that, Biscuit Baron was name-dropped in various sources until its first appearance in the Bungo n' Rusti Get Carry-Out comic, written by Jim Anderson, featured in Star Wars Adventure Journal 11 in 1996. It would go unmentioned until Pablo Hidalgo and Paul Ens's work on the HoloNet News entries published in 2002. After this, a sourcebook, as well as several other sources, have used the name.

Biscuit Barons share multiple connections with fast food restaurants; the most obvious of these is McDonald's, known worldwide for its products and branding. As further evidence of this connection, Biscuit Baron also paralleled McDonald's' Happy Meal in the form of the Jolly Meal.

Appearances

 * Evasive Action: End Game
 * Lando Calrissian: Idiot's Array
 * Evasive Action: End Game
 * Lando Calrissian: Idiot's Array
 * Lando Calrissian: Idiot's Array