# Zenchef

> **Who is this for?** This integration is for restaurants that use Zenchef to manage their reservations and guest relationships. If you don't use Zenchef, you can skip this page.
>
> Use a different reservation system? Anything with an API can still be connected: see [Connecting a Tool We Do Not List](connecting-other-tools.md), which covers custom functions, the API and webhooks.

Zenchef is a restaurant management platform that combines reservations, customer relationships, and marketing tools for hospitality businesses. Connecting Zenchef to <span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span> lets your restaurant automate customer messaging around bookings and guest engagement — all through the channels your guests already use, like WhatsApp, SMS, and Instagram.

::: walkthrough zenchef
:::

---

## What Zenchef Does

Zenchef provides restaurants with:

- Online reservation and table management
- A digital menu and ordering system
- Guest database and communication tools
- Review management and marketing campaigns
- Website and booking widget

By connecting Zenchef to <span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span>, you bring AI-powered messaging into your restaurant operations — handling reservation requests, sending confirmations, and re-engaging past diners automatically.

---

## Connecting Zenchef

### Step 1: Enable the connector in Zenchef

Zenchef only lets <span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span> see a restaurant after the restaurant has switched the connector on in its own Zenchef account. Do this first, otherwise the Restaurant ID step below stops with a "Zenchef hasn't given this platform access to that restaurant yet" message.

1. Log in to your Zenchef account.
2. Go to **Settings** > **Integrations** > **Partners**.
3. Under **Reservation services**, find **DM Champ** (this is the name <span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span> is listed under in Zenchef).
4. Click **Connect**.

Zenchef's own guide for this step: [Your AI connector](https://help.zenchef.com/hc/en-gb/articles/30499052037149-Your-AI-connector). If you can't find the entry, ask Zenchef support to enable it for your restaurant.

### Step 2: Connect the restaurant in <span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span>

1. In the left sidebar, click **Settings** (gear icon).
2. In the Settings sidebar, under the **Integrations** group, click **Booking & Calendar**.
3. Find the **Zenchef** card and click **Connect**.

::: master-only
<figure><img src="../.gitbook/assets/v2-settings-booking-calendar.png" alt="The Booking & Calendar settings screen, showing Google Calendar, Zenchef, Formitable, and Trafft cards each with a Connect button"><figcaption><p>Booking &amp; Calendar shows Zenchef's live connection status alongside Google Calendar, Formitable and Trafft, and connects each one.</p></figcaption></figure>
:::

4. Enter your **Restaurant ID** and click **Continue**. You'll find the ID in your Zenchef dashboard URL, or you can ask Zenchef support for it.

::: master-only
<figure><img src="../.gitbook/assets/v2-zenchef-connect-modal.png" alt="The Connect Zenchef dialog, asking for a Restaurant ID"><figcaption><p>Step one is just the Restaurant ID — we check it exists before asking you anything else.</p></figcaption></figure>
:::

5. Type your restaurant's name exactly as it appears in Zenchef, then click **Add restaurant**.

You can add several restaurants this way — click **Add restaurant** on the connected Zenchef row for each one.

### Restaurant Verification

<span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span> verifies that you have admin access to the Zenchef restaurant account before completing a connection, so only authorized team members can link the systems. That's what the name step is for: we never show you the restaurant's name, you have to already know it. You get 3 tries every 5 minutes; capitalization and spacing don't matter, but the words themselves need to match.

### Pausing or Removing a Restaurant

Each connected restaurant has its own **Pause** and **Remove** buttons on the Booking & Calendar page. Pausing stops the AI taking reservations for that restaurant while leaving it set up; removing deletes it entirely, though you can add it back any time with the same ID.

---

## Menu Questions

The Zenchef connection covers reservations; it does not read your Zenchef menu. To let the AI answer menu questions:

- **Add the menu to the knowledge base:** put your dishes, prices, allergen notes and daily specials in your AI Agent's FAQs or knowledge sources, and the bot answers "What vegetarian options do you have?" from there — see [Managing FAQs](../ai-automation/faq-management.md).
- **Send the menu as a file:** upload the menu PDF or image to the media library with a "when to send" note, and the bot sends it when a guest asks for the menu or price list.

::: tip
**Tip:** update the knowledge base whenever the menu changes, so the bot never quotes an old price.
:::


---

## Booking Management

Once connected, <span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span> works with Zenchef reservation data to:

- **Handle availability inquiries:** when a customer messages you asking for a table, the AI bot can check Zenchef for availability and respond with open time slots.
- **Confirm reservations:** automatically send a booking confirmation message when a reservation is created in Zenchef.
- **Send reminders:** reduce no-shows by sending automated reminders before the reservation.
- **Process changes:** let customers modify or cancel reservations through a messaging conversation, with updates syncing back to Zenchef.

### Telling your AI Agent to book with Zenchef

Once Zenchef is connected, point your AI Agent at it:

1. Click **AI Agents** in the sidebar and open the Agent.
2. Go to the **AI Abilities** step and find the **Bookings** card.
3. Turn on **Let this agent book appointments**.
4. Click the provider picker and choose **Zenchef** (the provider choices appear right under the switch).

::: master-only
<figure><img src="../.gitbook/assets/v2-agent-bookings-provider-picker.png" alt="The Bookings card on an AI Agent's AI Abilities step with booking switched on and the provider picker open, showing Built-in calendar, Zenchef, Formitable, and Trafft"><figcaption><p>The booking provider picker on the agent's Bookings card — pick Zenchef to have this agent book against your Zenchef availability.</p></figcaption></figure>
:::

---

## Automated Customer Engagement

Beyond reservations and menus, the integration supports:

- **Welcome messages:** automatically greet new customers who reach out via any messaging channel.
- **Post-visit follow-ups:** message guests after their visit to thank them and invite them back.
- **Seasonal campaigns:** use <span data-t="appName">DM Champ</span>'s Broadcasts or Campaigns to promote holiday menus, wine dinners, or special events to your Zenchef guest database.
- **Review requests:** automatically ask satisfied guests to leave a review after their visit.
- **Loyalty outreach:** identify repeat guests and send them personalized offers or early access to special events.

---

## Tips for Restaurants

- **Put your full menu in the knowledge base.** The more menu detail the bot has, the better it answers guest questions.
- **Add operational FAQs** to your AI Agent's knowledge base: hours, parking, private dining options, allergen policies, and dress code — see [Managing FAQs](../ai-automation/faq-management.md).
- **Use tags** to segment your guest list — for example, "wine-lover," "birthday-celebration," "large-party" — and send targeted broadcasts or campaigns to each segment.
- **Enable the booking system** on your AI Agent so it can handle the full reservation flow without human intervention.

---

## Next Steps

- [AI Agents](../ai-agents/ai-agents.md) — configure your restaurant's AI Agent.
- [Managing FAQs](../ai-automation/faq-management.md) — add restaurant-specific questions and answers.
- [Moving from Campaigns to Broadcasts & Agents](../moving-from-campaigns.md) — build messaging for confirmations, reminders, and promotions.