EatCookJoy UAE — WhatsApp Integration

01 · The opportunity

Two journeys, one chat.

WhatsApp is the default channel in the UAE — every client and every chef already has it open. The integration removes the biggest friction in the funnel: the app download. The same booking loop that runs in the app (session type → menu → chef match → confirm → pay) runs as a guided conversation, and the chef confirms back to the client directly. Two parallel experiences, sharing one backend.

Client on WhatsApp

Opens chat from website wa.me link, Instagram, QR code or ad — no download

One-time taste profile: area, household size, cuisines, dietary tags, allergens, budget

Selects meals from the 16,848-recipe vault via interactive lists — or just types what they want

Gets matched to 1–3 available chefs and picks one

Reviews a clear summary (chef, menu, date, groceries, price + VAT) and pays via a Stripe link in-chat

Receives the chef's confirmation directly, then chats with the chef for any tweaks

Gets reminders, live "chef on the way" status, receipt and one-tap re-book

Chef on WhatsApp

Onboards through a guided WhatsApp Flow — ID, food-handler licence, photos, specialities, IBAN

Sets service areas and availability without leaving the chat

Receives matched booking requests with Accept / Decline buttons and a 60-second SLA

Reads the per-session recipe brief: dishes, ingredients, allergens, household notes

Confirms directly to the client, then messages them for any clarifications

Gets the auto grocery list, captures expenses by photo, marks "on the way" / "arrived" / "done"

Receives payout confirmation and auto reminders before licence expiry

Relationship to the main app

This WhatsApp layer is not a separate product — it is a new front-end channel onto the same EatCookJoy backend described in the App Development Blueprint: the same booking engine, chef-matching service, recipe vault, Stripe Connect and admin dashboard. Everything a client or chef does on WhatsApp appears in the admin dashboard exactly as an in-app action would. The two channels stay in sync through one shared API.

02 · Client conversation flow

From "Hi" to a confirmed chef.

The exact step sequence the client experiences. Each step maps to specific WhatsApp message types (interactive lists, reply buttons, WhatsApp Flows, CTA-URL) and a backend call. This is the build spec for the client journey.

Entry & opt-in

Client taps a wa.me link or scans a QR. Auto-greeting introduces ECJ, captures explicit opt-in consent (required by Meta + UAE PDPL), and detects language (EN / AR).

Welcome templateConsent captureLanguage detect

Intent menu

Reply buttons: Book a chef · Manage a booking · Talk to a human. New users are routed into the taste profile first.

Interactive buttons

Taste profile (first time only)

A single WhatsApp Flow form captures emirate & area, household size, preferred cuisines, dietary tags, allergens and budget band. Saved to the client profile and reused on every future booking.

WhatsApp FlowProfile API

Meal selection — three ways

Browse: interactive List Messages grouped by cuisine → a menu-builder Flow with multi-select. Type it: "Friday dinner, 6 people, halal, under AED 950" → the AI Meal Concierge proposes a menu. Snap-a-dish: client sends a food photo → AI identifies the dish → matches a chef who cooks it.

List messagesMenu-builder FlowGPT-4 conciergeVision

Session type & date

Pick a service tier — Dinner Prep (AED 349) · Meal Prep Light (AED 449) · Standard Meal Prep (AED 629) — plus date and arrival time via a Flow date/time picker against live availability.

Pricing tiersAvailability check

Chef matching

Backend matching returns the best 1–3 available chefs for the menu, cuisine, area and date. Each is shown as a card (name, cuisines, rating, photo, price). Client selects one.

Matching APIChef cards

Groceries & confirm

Choose grocery handling — chef shops · pre-delivery · premium sourcing (+AED 75). Then a clear summary card: chef, menu, date, groceries, subtotal, VAT, total.

Order summaryVAT line

Pay in chat

A Stripe payment link is delivered as a CTA-URL button. On the payment-success webhook the booking is created and locked. (WhatsApp Pay is not yet live in the UAE — Stripe link is the route.)

Stripe linkCTA URLPayment webhook

Chef confirms → direct chat

When the chef accepts, the client immediately gets "Chef Maria confirmed your Friday dinner." A platform-mediated thread then lets client and chef message each other directly for any tweaks — numbers stay masked, messages logged.

Confirmation templateNumber maskingRelay

Reminders, status & feedback

T-24h and T-2h reminder templates, calendar invite, live "chef on the way / arrived" updates. After the session: a 3-tap rating + NPS, the VAT receipt, and a one-tap re-book.

Reminder templatesLive statusRe-book

🍳

EatCookJoy UAE

online

Hi! Friday dinner for 6, halal, under AED 950 🙏13:58

Perfect 👌 Based on your taste profile I've built a Levantine feast menu. Want to see it?13:58

Here are 3 chefs free this Friday in JVC:

👩‍🍳 Maria · ★4.9 · AED 629

👨‍🍳 Omar · ★4.8 · AED 629

👩‍🍳 Layla · ★4.9 · AED 629

13:59

Maria please ✨14:00

Great choice! Total AED 660.45 incl. VAT. Tap to pay:

💳 Pay securely

14:00

✅ Maria confirmed your Friday 8pm dinner. You can message her here anytime.14:01

03 · Chef conversation flow

Onboard and run jobs — from the chat.

The chef side of the integration: a self-service onboarding that feeds admin approval, and an operational loop for every booking. Chefs never need the app to get live and earning.

Invite & start

Chef receives a recruiter invite template (or messages the chef line directly). Opt-in captured, language set.

Invite templateOpt-in

Onboarding Flow

A guided WhatsApp Flow collects full name, Emirates ID, food-handler licence (photo upload), profile photo, cuisines & specialities, service areas, availability and bank IBAN. Documents are stored securely and queued for admin review.

WhatsApp FlowDocument uploadKYC

Admin approval

Admin reviews documents in the dashboard. Chef receives an "approved" or "more info needed" message. Only approved, compliant chefs become matchable.

Admin reviewStatus message

Booking request

A matched booking arrives as a template with the key details and Accept / Decline buttons, plus a 60-second accept SLA. No reply in time → auto re-offer to the next chef.

Request templateAccept/DeclineSLA timer

Recipe brief & direct chat

On accept, the chef gets the per-session recipe brief (dishes, ingredients, allergens, household notes) as a document, the client is notified, and the masked direct-chat thread opens for both sides.

Recipe briefRelay thread

Groceries & expenses

Auto-generated shopping list delivered in chat. Chef confirms the grocery option and captures expenses by sending receipt photos — logged against the booking.

Shopping listReceipt capture

Day-of status

Reminder + navigation link. Status buttons — On the way · Arrived · Session complete — each pushes a live update to the client.

Status buttonsClient live update

Completion & payout

"Session complete" triggers the Stripe Connect payout split. Chef receives a payout confirmation (T+2 business days) with the breakdown.

Payout triggerConfirmation

Compliance reminders

30-day and 7-day food-handler licence expiry reminders sent automatically; chef renews by replying with a new document. Non-renewed chefs are auto-paused from matching.

Expiry templatesAuto-pause

04 · Architecture & stack

What it's built on.

A thin, reliable WhatsApp layer in front of the existing EatCookJoy backend. The orchestrator holds conversation state; everything transactional (bookings, matching, payments) calls the same APIs the app uses.

Channel

WhatsApp Cloud API

Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform via a BSP (360dialog / Gupshup / Twilio). One number for both clients and chefs — routed by role on entry.

Cloud APIBSPVerified business

Messages

Interactive + Flows

Reply buttons, List Messages, CTA-URL, media, location, and WhatsApp Flows for structured forms (profile, onboarding, menu builder, feedback).

ButtonsListsFlowsTemplates

Orchestrator

Webhook + state machine

Node service receives webhooks, tracks per-user conversation state, and routes each step to the right backend call. n8n drives the async automations.

Node / NestJSRedis staten8n

AI / NLU

GPT-4 layer

Free-text intent, the meal concierge, snap-a-dish vision, and L1 support. RAG over the 16,848-recipe vault with an allergen-safety filter.

GPT-4VisionRecipe RAG

Core APIs

Existing ECJ backend

Reuses the app's booking engine, chef-matching service, recipe vault and profiles. No duplicate logic — WhatsApp is just another client of the same API.

GraphQL/RESTPostgreSQLMatching

Payments

Stripe links

Stripe payment links delivered as CTA-URL; success webhook locks the booking. AED + UAE VAT invoicing. Stripe Connect splits the chef payout.

Payment linksAED + VATConnect

Relay

Masked client↔chef chat

Platform-mediated messaging so client and chef talk directly without exposing personal numbers. Every message logged for safety & disputes.

Number maskingMessage log

Admin

Inbox + broadcast

Human-handover inbox, template/Flow manager, opt-out list, and WhatsApp KPIs surfaced in the existing admin dashboard.

Handover inboxBroadcastAnalytics

Compliance & policy — must be designed in, not bolted on

Meta: business verification, an approved display name, message-template pre-approval (utility / marketing / authentication / service categories), the 24-hour customer-service window rule, conversation-based pricing, and quality-rating protection to avoid number throttling.

UAE: explicit opt-in and easy opt-out per PDPL & TDRA anti-spam rules; halal-first menu defaults; AED + VAT-compliant receipts. Personal data is stored under the same PDPL posture as the main app.

07 · Delivery timeline

A 10–12 week workstream.

Runs in parallel with the main app build. The long pole is Meta business verification and template approval — started in week 1 so it never blocks development.

Week 1–2

Phase 0 — Account & access

WhatsApp setup & verification

Get the Meta plumbing in place — this is the dependency that gates everything.

Meta Business Manager + business verification

BSP selection & onboarding (360dialog / Gupshup / Twilio)

Single WABA + number, role-based routing on entry, display name

Opt-in plumbing on website / IG / QR + consent store

Week 2–4

Phase 1 — Foundations

Orchestrator, templates & Flows

Build the rails: webhook receiver, state machine, and submit all message assets for approval early.

Webhook service + conversation state machine

Draft & submit all EN + AR templates for Meta approval

Build WhatsApp Flows (profile, onboarding, menu, feedback)

Backend API contract with the core ECJ platform

Week 4–7

Phase 2 — Client journey

Book, select, match & pay

The full client loop end-to-end inside WhatsApp.

Taste profile + meal selection (browse / type / snap)

AI Meal Concierge + chef matching surfaced in chat

Order summary, Stripe pay-link, payment webhook

Confirmations, reminders, feedback & re-book

Week 6–9

Phase 3 — Chef journey

Onboarding, jobs & direct chat

The chef side and the masked client↔chef relay.

Chef onboarding Flow + admin approval loop

Booking request / accept-decline / SLA re-offer

Recipe brief, grocery list, expense capture, status updates

Masked direct messaging + payout & compliance reminders

Week 9–11

Phase 4 — Admin & AI

Inbox, broadcast & analytics

Operator tooling and the AI deflection layer.

Human-handover inbox + broadcast / template manager

L1 support bot + bilingual auto-translation

Opt-out management + WhatsApp KPIs in admin

Week 11–12

Phase 5 — QA & go-live

Hardening & pilot

Bilingual QA, quality-rating protection, then a controlled pilot before opening the lines.

End-to-end QA in EN + AR on real devices

Delivery / quality-rating monitoring + alerting

Pilot with founding chefs + first clients, then go-live

08 · Scope of Work · for engineer / vendor quote

The clean, simple-list Scope of Work.

Print or save this section as PDF using the button at the top of the page. The printed file contains only this Scope of Work — no marketing visuals — ready to email to a WhatsApp / engineering vendor for quotation.

1 · Project Overview

Project: EatCookJoy UAE — WhatsApp Integration, a conversational channel on top of the existing ECJ platform (web · iOS · Android)
Goal: clients select meals, get matched to a chef, confirm and pay entirely within WhatsApp; chefs onboard and message clients directly
Languages: English + Arabic (all templates and Flows bilingual)
Geography: all 7 Emirates; halal-first menu defaults
Compliance: Meta WhatsApp Business policies, UAE PDPL & TDRA opt-in rules, AED + VAT receipts
Indicative timeline: 10–12 weeks, running in parallel with the main app build
Constraint: this is a front-end channel reusing the existing ECJ backend (booking engine, chef matching, recipe vault, Stripe, admin) — not a separate product

2 · WhatsApp Account & Platform Setup

Meta Business Manager setup + business verification
BSP selection & onboarding (e.g. 360dialog, Gupshup, or Twilio) or direct Cloud API
Single WhatsApp Business Account / number for both clients and chefs, routed by role on first contact
Approved display names; optional Official Business Account (green tick)
Opt-in capture across website wa.me link, Instagram, QR codes and ads
Consent & opt-out store; quality-rating monitoring to prevent number throttling

3 · Client Journey — required features

Entry + opt-in + language detection (EN / AR)
Intent menu: book a chef / manage booking / talk to a human
One-time taste profile (area, household size, cuisines, dietary tags, allergens, budget)
Meal selection three ways: browse vault lists, free-text AI concierge, snap-a-dish photo
Session-tier & date/time selection against live availability (AED 349 / 449 / 629)
Chef matching — 1–3 chef cards returned, client selects
Grocery-handling choice (chef shops / pre-delivery / premium +AED 75)
Order summary with subtotal, VAT and total
In-chat payment via Stripe link (CTA-URL) + payment-success webhook
Chef-confirmed-to-client notification + masked direct client↔chef chat
T-24h / T-2h reminders, calendar invite, live "on the way / arrived" status
Post-session 3-tap rating + NPS, VAT receipt, one-tap re-book

4 · Chef Journey — required features

Invite / start + opt-in
Onboarding Flow: name, Emirates ID, food-handler licence (upload), photo, specialities, service areas, availability, IBAN
Admin approval loop with approved / more-info-needed messaging
Booking request template with Accept / Decline + 60-second SLA + auto re-offer
Per-session recipe brief (dishes, ingredients, allergens, household notes)
Auto grocery shopping list + receipt-photo expense capture
Day-of status buttons: on the way / arrived / session complete
Stripe Connect payout trigger on completion + payout confirmation (T+2)
Food-handler licence expiry reminders (30 / 7 days) + auto-pause if unrenewed

5 · Client ↔ Chef Direct Messaging

Platform-mediated (masked-number) direct chat between client and chef
Both personal numbers stay hidden; all messages logged for safety & disputes
Optional EN↔AR auto-translation of relayed messages

6 · Message Templates (EN + AR) — to build & get approved

Welcome / opt-in · booking summary & payment prompt · payment confirmed
Chef booking request · chef-confirmed-to-client · reminders (T-24h, T-2h)
On-the-way / arrived status · feedback + NPS · VAT receipt + re-book
Chef payout confirmation · licence-expiry reminders · weekly dish-drop (marketing, opt-in)

7 · WhatsApp Flows (forms) — to build

Client taste profile · menu builder (multi-select) · session + date/time picker · grocery choice
Chef onboarding · chef availability editor · post-session rating/NPS · human-handover request

8 · AI & Automation Layer — required

Conversational Meal Concierge (GPT-4 + recipe RAG + allergen filter)
Snap-a-dish vision identification → recipe & chef match
Smart chef-matching surfaced in chat
L1 support / FAQ deflection bot with human handover
Bilingual EN↔AR auto-translation for relayed messages
n8n automation for reminders, payouts, compliance and re-engagement

9 · Architecture & Stack — required

Channel: WhatsApp Cloud API via BSP — interactive buttons, list messages, CTA-URL, media, WhatsApp Flows, templates
Orchestrator: Node / NestJS webhook service + Redis conversation-state store + n8n
AI: GPT-4 (text + vision), RAG over the 16,848-recipe vault
Core: reuses existing ECJ APIs — booking engine, chef matching, recipe vault, profiles (PostgreSQL)
Payments: Stripe payment links + Connect payout splits, AED + UAE VAT
Relay: masked client↔chef messaging with full message logging
Admin: human-handover inbox, template / Flow manager, opt-out list, WhatsApp KPIs

10 · Admin & Operations

Human-handover inbox for live agents (EN + AR)
Broadcast & template manager with category controls
Opt-in / opt-out management compliant with PDPL & TDRA
WhatsApp analytics: delivery, read, response times, conversion, quality rating, conversation cost

11 · Non-Functional Requirements

Bilingual EN + AR throughout; correct RTL rendering in Flows
24-hour customer-service window handling + correct template categories
Delivery & quality-rating monitoring with alerting
PDPL-compliant data storage; secure document handling (ID, licence, IBAN)
Idempotent webhooks; retry & dead-letter handling; audit logging

12 · Assumptions & Dependencies (client provides)

Meta Business Manager access + ability to complete business verification
Phone number(s) for the WhatsApp lines
API access / cooperation from the core app's engineering team
Active Stripe account with AED + VAT configured
Brand assets, approved copy, and the recipe vault data

13 · Out of Scope (this workstream)

Building the core app itself (covered in the App Development Blueprint)
WhatsApp Pay in-app checkout (not available in the UAE — Stripe link used instead)
Voice / WhatsApp calling flows
Meta conversation / messaging fees (pass-through cost, billed by Meta/BSP)

14 · Vendor Deliverables on Quote

Itemised quotation against sections 2–10 above
Proposed team + CVs (WhatsApp Cloud API, conversational backend, AI/NLU, QA)
Recommended BSP with pricing comparison and rationale
Estimate of Meta conversation costs at projected volume (UAE rates)
Delivery plan aligned to the 10–12 week Phase 0–5 timeline above
Post-launch support & maintenance proposal (SLA, monthly retainer)
IP ownership — all source, templates, Flows and configs transfer to EatCookJoy UAE on payment

Ready to send to a vendor?

Tap the button to save this Scope of Work as a PDF in your Downloads folder. The PDF contains only sections 1–14 above — no marketing visuals — clean and ready to attach to a Request for Quotation.

Book a chef, build a menu and pay — entirely on WhatsApp.