For a number field [Formula: see text], let [Formula: see text] be the Dedekind zeta function associated to [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we study non-vanishing and transcendence of [Formula: see text] as well as its derivative [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text]. En route, we strengthen a result proved by Ram Murty and Tanabe [On the nature of [Formula: see text] and non-vanishing of [Formula: see text]-series at [Formula: see text], J. Number Theory 161 (2016) 444–456].