Customer storyHow Hotplate onboards food creators with Frigade Assistant.
Hotplate is the platform powering local food entrepreneurs, helping bakers, pop-ups, and home chefs run pre-order drops, marketplaces, and direct-to-customer sales.
The challenge
New Chefs need to configure menus, pickup or delivery, payments, and their first drop in a product they have not used before.
The solution
Hotplate kicked off a four-week proof of concept with Frigade in October 2025. The team set targets for double-digit support reduction, 4.5+ user satisfaction, 85% accuracy, and sub-three-second response times.
- Reduction in support tickets
- 10%+
- User satisfaction rating
- 4.5+
- Accuracy on user questions
- 85%+
About Hotplate
Hotplate is the platform powering a new generation of food creators. Cottage bakers, pop-up restaurants, and home chefs running pre-order drops use Hotplate to run and grow direct-to-customer food businesses.
New Chefs need to configure their business and launch a first drop. Product guidance helps them work through those unfamiliar steps.
“Frigade lets us run support like a product, not a cost center. Our Chefs get answers in the moment they need them, and our team focuses on the harder problems.”
A complex first day for non-technical users.
Setup-day complexity A first drop brings together several parts of Hotplate, from the menu to payments and pickup or delivery. New Chefs need to understand how those settings work together.
Questions tied to the current screen A setup question can depend on the menu, drop, or settings the Chef has open. The support team needed a way to help with that specific task.
Support that stalled momentum Chefs often asked setup questions after hours, when Hotplate's support team was not online to answer them immediately.
A sous chef for the Hotplate dashboard.
Trained on the live product Frigade's browser agent learned Hotplate's setup, drop configuration, payments, and menu management directly from the product. It relearns those workflows as the product changes, so its answers can draw on the updated interface.
How auto-learning keeps it accurateSpecific answers to specific questions Questions like "how do I delete a menu item?" or "what's the difference between store hours and event windows?" get answered in the moment, with the right step for the Chef's actual product state. Not a generic help article.
How the assistant takes the stepHelp when a Chef wants it Hotplate uses Frigade for opt-in product tours, giving Chefs a way to get help from the part of the portal they are using.
Explore product toursWhere Frigade helps Hotplate's Chefs.
First-touch on the dashboard A new Chef opens the Hotplate dashboard and can ask Frigade for help while working through setup.
Conversational setup The Chef asks specific questions about their account. The Assistant walks them through the answer based on the actual workflow, not a generic article. Tax setup, payment connection, menu pricing, drop scheduling, all answered in-context.
Continuous learning When Hotplate ships updates, Frigade relearns the product so its answers can reflect the changed workflows.
Setup that scales with the Chef community.
Chefs can get help with setup even when Hotplate's team is offline. The Assistant handles basic and complex product questions, leaving the support team more time for problems that need their attention.
“Learning everything Hotplate can do takes time, especially for new Chefs. Before Frigade they came to us with questions, often after hours when we weren't online to help immediately. Now the Assistant helps thousands of signups a month through basic and complex questions whenever a Chef needs it. Our support team is freed up to focus on the harder problems, allowing users to scale without growing the team.”