The House that Cheese Built

PRAISE FOR THE HOUSE THAT CHEESE BUILT “Miguel Leal is a true pioneer. Back when he started out, nobody had heard of Mexican cheese in the U.S. He not only created, tested, and refined unique Hispanic cheese recipes, he also innovated new mechanized techniques to produce those cheeses, and established markets for them where none existed before. I told him he was crazy more than once, but Miguel taught me the meaning of never giving up when you have a dream.” —JIM FAITH, CEO, Faith Engineering, Inc. “Miguel Leal is a creative visionary, starting with his passion for introducing top quality Hispanic-style cheeses to the U.S. market. Thanks to his nonstop energy, determination, and strategic thinking, Leal built a multimillion-dollar business from the ground up despite never having taken a business class. Now that’s what I call a success story.” —JOSE GUTIERREZ, Founder and CEO, Sweet Moments and More “With his unique recipes for Hispanic cheeses and his organized, methodical ideas for setting up factories to achieve maximum, cost-effective efficiency, Miguel Leal broke new ground in global cheese production and established himself as a leader in the field.” —HECTOR LARRAGA, DVP of Operations, Sigma Alimentos A USA TODAY BESTSELLER A quintessential American dream story from a Mexican entrepreneur who shares the tale of building a multi-million-dollar business from scratch, complete with both success and failure, and always a vision of hope. Leal came to the U.S. penniless as a teenager, speaking almost no English; he literally slept in the boiler room of a Wisconsin cheese factory for months before he was caught. Through hard work, grit, and ingenuity Leal would go on to launch his own business. He is widely credited with introducing Mexican cheeses to the U.S. market…