Hospitality Management System: Meet Pip, Built by Industry Veterans
With more than 80 combined years shaping the industry, and a front-row seat to its persistent failures, two veterans are betting that agentic AI can do what no training manual ever could.
The hospitality management system that Cheryl and Andy Cordier have just launched arrives into a grim reality, and the people who know that reality best are the ones who refuse to look away. Year after year, hospitality businesses close at a rate that would shock any other sector: casualties not of bad food or poor location, but of invisible structural failures such as undertrained staff, absent onboarding, unwritten recipes, non-existent health and safety protocols, and manual systems patched together with spreadsheets and goodwill. Into this landscape, Cheryl and Andy Cordier have launched Pip, and the industry may never be the same.
“We kept watching businesses close for reasons that were entirely preventable. That had to stop.”Cheryl Cordier, Co-Founder, Pip
The vision has been decades in the making. Cheryl Cordier’s career reads like a masterclass in every dimension of hospitality. She was Deputy General Manager of a hotel at just 21 years old, a feat that signals not merely ambition but an exceptional ability to lead. She went on to own catering companies, a guest house, a restaurant, and an event management company, and authored a themed cookbook before launching what would become one of South Africa’s most significant culinary institutions: Capsicum Culinary Studio, the country’s largest chef college. Her academic credentials extend to invitation-only entrepreneurship programmes at both Harvard University and Stanford University, delivered through the global Endeavor network, a testament to the calibre of thinking she brings to every venture.
- Deputy General Manager of a hotel, aged 21
- Founded Capsicum Culinary Studio, South Africa’s largest chef college
- Launched International Culinary Studio, a globally recognised online culinary college
- MSD Canterbury hospitality training contract (5 years) and national programme (2 years)
- Invitation-only entrepreneurship programmes at Harvard University and Stanford University via Endeavor
- Authored a themed cookbook and launched an entertainment voucher book
- Systems and process mentor for businesses across New Zealand and South Africa
- Catered Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, his 90th birthday, and his funeral
- Ran casino kitchen operations, plus extensive industrial and private event catering
- MasterChef preliminary judge, South Africa
- Head of Western Cape Chapter, South African Chefs Association
- Board member, NZ Chefs Association; hosted InfoChef events in New Zealand
- Developed new food product ranges for multiple companies
- Face and training voice of International Culinary Studio across all training videos and skills content
Andy Cordier’s story is no less extraordinary. As a Culinary Director and Executive Chef, he has operated across industrial catering, private events, and casino kitchens, developed new product lines for major food companies, and served as a MasterChef preliminary judge. Most famously, he catered some of history’s most consequential gatherings: Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, his 90th birthday, and his funeral, events that demanded not just culinary excellence but logistical precision under extraordinary pressure. He is the face and intellectual engine behind International Culinary Studio’s training content, and now sits on the board of the NZ Chefs Association.
Together, the pair have spent the past 11 years building International Culinary Studio into one of the most highly recognised online culinary colleges in the world, with students enrolled across the globe. They hold contracts to train hospitality workers for New Zealand’s Ministry of Social Development, a Canterbury arrangement spanning five years, now extended to a national programme for the past two. Their reach is systemic, not anecdotal.
“A full SOP stack costs between $20,000 and $100,000. Most small operators don’t even know what they’re missing.”Andy Cordier, Co-Founder, Pip
The impetus for Pip is rooted in concern that has intensified over years of frontline observation. The Cordiers have watched small and medium hospitality businesses struggle with challenges that larger corporates solve through costly infrastructure. Standard Operating Procedures alone can cost between $20,000 and $100,000 to develop professionally, an investment entirely out of reach for most café owners or boutique restaurateurs. Meanwhile, staff continue to be onboarded informally, rosters are managed manually, stocktakes are conducted on paper, and new employees receive little to no structured introduction to their workplace.
The human cost is just as troubling. Sub-standard working conditions, a lack of wellness support, and an absence of clear responsibilities around health and safety create environments where people don’t just underperform: they burn out, leave, or are harmed. For an industry whose greatest asset is its people, this is not merely an operational failure. It is a crisis.
Agentic AI, which enables systems to autonomously reason, act, and adapt across complex workflows, has finally made it possible to package the kind of deep institutional knowledge that Cheryl and Andy carry, and deliver it affordably to any operator anywhere in the world. Pip is that delivery mechanism. Where a consultant might take months and charge tens of thousands, Pip can guide an operator through SOP creation, onboarding flows, health and safety checklists, and live rostering from the moment they log in.
The platform is comprehensive by design. Pip consolidates Standard Operating Procedures into accessible, editable formats; standardises recipes to eliminate the costly inconsistency that plagues kitchens when key staff change; automates stock management that many businesses still track by hand; and provides structured onboarding pathways that give new team members the context and confidence to contribute from day one. Health and safety modules embed legal compliance into daily operations rather than treating it as a separate administrative exercise. Employee wellbeing tools signal a philosophy that is rare in the sector: that the people preparing and serving food are the true foundation of any hospitality business.
The Cordiers are under no illusions about the scale of the challenge, or the scale of the opportunity. They are currently seeking 1,000 early adopters: hospitality operators willing to help shape and stress-test the platform as it evolves toward what they believe can become the world’s preferred system for small and medium hospitality businesses globally. In exchange for early access, adopters will have disproportionate influence over the product’s direction, a rare invitation in an industry that too often has things done to it rather than with it.
Secure Your Early Access to Pip
The founders are seeking 1,000 early adopters to help build the world’s best hospitality management system. Reach out and express your interest.
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