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Latke
Latke (Yiddish; Hebrew levivah/levivot): Ashkenazi Jewish fried potato pancake of grated potato, onion, egg, and flour or matzo meal, eaten at Hanukkah for the oil miracle, with cheese-pancake origins in 14th-century Italy.
Latte
Latte (caffè latte): espresso drink of one or two shots topped with 3–4 parts steamed milk and ~1 cm microfoam, served 8–12 oz; mildest classic espresso drink, distinct from cappuccino and flat white.
Latte art
Latte art is the practice of pouring textured steamed milk into espresso so white microfoam forms patterns against the brown crema, popularized at Seattle's Espresso Vivace in the 1980s.
Latte macchiato
Latte macchiato, Italian for "stained milk," is an espresso-milk drink built milk-first with espresso poured through foam, forming three layers via double-diffusive convection; distinct from latte, cappuccino, and espresso macchiato.
Lauga
Lauga is the formal oratory of Samoa, delivered by matai, chiefs and talking chiefs, at weddings, funerals, meetings, and title ceremonies across the Samoan world.
Laundry
Laundry is the washing of textiles by machine, hand, or dry cleaning to remove soil, stains, and microbes. Covers surfactant chemistry, hygiene, EU detergent rules, energy use, and history.
Laundry symbol
Laundry symbols (care symbols) are standardized pictograms on textile labels, defined by ISO 3758 and GINETEX's 1963 trademarked system: washtub, triangle, square, iron and circle, with numbers, dots, bars and crosses encoding care limits.
Laura James
Laura James (born 1990), also Laura Ellen Ecker, American model and actress, winner of America's Next Top Model Cycle 19 College Edition (2012); daughter of Dynasty actor John James; later campaigns for Guess and acting roles in S.W.A.T. and Howl.
Laura Kim
Laura Kim (born 1982, Seoul) is a Korean-Canadian fashion designer, co-founder of Monse with Fernando Garcia, and Oscar de la Renta co-creative director 2016–2026 after twelve years rising from intern to design director.
Laura Sharrad
Laura Sharrad (née Cassai) is an Australian chef who was twice MasterChef runner-up (2014, 2020) before winning Back To Win 2025 with 80/90 points and $250,000; co-founder of Adelaide's Nido and Fugazzi and author of two Italian cookbooks.
Lavash (լավաշ)
Lavash (լավաշ) is a thin wheat-flour flatbread baked on the wall of a tonir clay oven, central to Armenian cuisine and inscribed by UNESCO in 2014, with a related 2016 multinational flatbread listing; it keeps dry up to six months.
Lavazza
Lavazza: Italian coffee company founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza; pioneer of coffee blending, Italy's largest coffee firm since 1957, now a global group with €3.9 billion revenue, brands like Carte Noire, Merrild, and Kicking Horse.
Lawson (ローソン) (store)
Lawson (ローソン) is a major Japanese convenience store chain run by Lawson, Inc. (LAWSON, NATURAL LAWSON, LAWSON STORE 100). Founded from J.J. Lawson's 1939 Ohio milk shop; first Japanese store opened 1975 in Osaka; about 14,000 domestic stores plus 7,000+ in China.
Lay's
Lay's is an American potato chip brand founded by Herman Lay in Nashville in 1932, merged into Frito-Lay in 1961 and PepsiCo in 1965; sold in over 200 countries, using about 4 billion pounds of potatoes yearly.
Lazy Susan
Lazy Susan is a rotating tray, an American invention dating to 1917. It uses a bearing assembly to allow users to reach items in dining tables or deep kitchen cabinets.
Le Bernardin
Le Bernardin: French seafood restaurant founded in Paris in 1972 by Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze, opened in New York in 1986; three Michelin stars since 2005, six four-star New York Times reviews, chef Eric Ripert since 1994.
Le Coq Sportif
Le Coq Sportif: French sports clothing and footwear brand founded 1882 in Romilly-sur-Seine by Émile Camuset; outfitted French Olympic teams 1912-1972 and Paris 2024; placed in judicial restructuring November 2024, taken over by Dan Mamane in 2025.
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu, international network of culinary arts and hospitality schools founded in Paris in 1895 by Marthe Distel; about 35 institutes in 20 countries, 20,000 students yearly, known for the Grand Diplôme and alumni like Julia Child.
Le Gavroche
Le Gavroche was a Mayfair French haute cuisine restaurant founded by Albert and Michel Roux in 1967, the first UK restaurant to win three Michelin stars (1982), demoted to two in 1993, closed January 2024.
Lê Nguyễn Bảo Ngọc
Lê Nguyễn Bảo Ngọc, Vietnamese beauty queen from Cần Thơ: Miss Intercontinental 2022, Miss World Vietnam 2024, Top 6 at Miss World 2026 in Nha Trang, and founder of the climate-focused youth enterprise Gen Zero.
Lea & Perrins
Lea & Perrins is the British brand founded in Worcester in 1837 by chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, inventor of Worcestershire sauce; its recipe remains a Heinz trade secret, the sauce matures 18 months, and it still ships to over 130 countries.
Leah Chase
Leah Chase (1923-2019), the "Queen of Creole Cuisine," chef-owner of Dooky Chase's Restaurant in New Orleans, civil rights meeting place, inspiration for Disney's Princess Tiana, 2016 James Beard Lifetime Achievement winner.
Leah McSweeney
Leah McSweeney, also known as Leah Mob, is the American founder of Married to the Mob (MTTM), a pioneering women's streetwear label launched in New York in 2004; she starred on RHONY seasons 12 and 13, wrote the 2022 memoir Chaos Theory, and is suing Bravo.
Leather gloves
Leather gloves are hand coverings cut and sewn from animal skin, ranging from thin dress gloves to heavy work gauntlets; leather stays the standard material where fit, durability, and dexterity matter.
Leather pride flag
Leather pride flag, designed by Tony DeBlase and first shown May 28, 1989 at International Mr. Leather, Chicago: nine black and royal blue stripes, white center stripe, red heart; designer assigned no symbolism.
Leather subculture
The leather subculture, also known as the leather scene, is a community centered on leather clothing that grew from gay bars and motorcycle clubs in the 1950s and 1960s.
Leavening agent
Leavening agent: substances that generate gas (air, steam, CO2, ammonia) to raise doughs and batters, in three forms: biological (yeast, sourdough), chemical (baking soda, baking powder, phosphates), and physical (air, steam).
Lebanese cuisine
Lebanese cuisine, part of Levantine cooking, is defined by shared mezze (15-30 small plates), kibbeh as national dish, lemon and olive oil flavors, mouneh preservation, and 20th-century diaspora spread.
Lebkuchen
Lebkuchen, German spiced honey-gingerbread, traditionally from Nuremberg; Nürnberger Lebkuchen (Lebküchner documented 1395, guild 1643) holds EU PGI status since 1996, with Elisenlebkuchen capped at 10% flour and at least 25% nuts.
Lederhosen
Lederhosen (Lederhose) are leather breeches from Alpine Tracht, originally workwear in Bavaria and Austria, revived by Josef Vogl's 1883 costume association, banned for Jews in 1938, and now festival dress at Oktoberfest.