Chef Monk has been obsessed with pizza since she was a child, sneaking into her grandmother's kitchen to watch dough being stretched and tossed with practiced ease. What started as childhood curiosity blossomed into a lifelong culinary passion that has taken her from Naples to New York and everywhere in between.

After training at some of the world's finest pizzerias and earning her stripes in professional kitchens across Italy and the United States, Chef Monk returned home with a singular vision: to open a place that honored traditional pizza craft while leaving plenty of room for bold, joyful experimentation. That vision became Pizza Ritza.

Chef Monk is perhaps best known for her legendary Ritza Special — a pizza built atop a giant Ritz cracker crust. The idea came to her one late night in the kitchen, surrounded by leftover crackers and a surplus of toppings. She melted butter into the cracker base, layered on a sharp cheddar cream sauce, and piled it high with caramelized onions, smoked gouda, and crispy prosciutto. The result was something magical: buttery, flaky, salty, and completely unlike anything anyone had ever tasted. Regulars still line up early on the days it appears on the specials board.

Beyond the Ritza Special, Chef Monk's menu reflects her belief that great pizza is both an art and a conversation. Her Classic Margherita uses tomatoes she sources from a small family farm two towns over. Her Garden Party pie changes with the seasons — whatever is freshest, freshest wins. And her Monk's Meat Feast is a quiet nod to the hearty, no-nonsense pies she grew up eating on Friday nights.

When she's not in the kitchen, Chef Monk teaches pizza-making workshops for kids and adults alike, convinced that the best way to fall in love with food is to make it yourself. Stop by Pizza Ritza and you might just catch her tossing dough out front — she never misses a chance to put on a show.