IT’S hard to imagine someone from Fray Bentos never tasting a Fray Bentos pie? There is an argument that they would not be missing out on much anyway, but nevertheless it is still some going to have avoided that for 24 years of your life.

Gaston Ramirez, the man from the Uruguayan port city, has never taken the plunge in that direction because he prefers barbecues – even in the rain in County Durham!

And he is in no great rush either to head for the local Spar in Hurworth, near to Middlesbrough’s Rockliffe Park training complex, to buy a Classic Steak and Kidney for his evening meal; it’s probably not good for his diet for a start.

"I always love to go back home but unfortunately when it's sunny in December I can't go,” said Ramirez. “When I played in Italy (for Bologna) we had like a ten day winter break so I could go back to see the family but now we have to see them once a year in the summer."

"It was funny when I first saw some Fray Bentos pies in the supermarket here. It was strange. I knew all about them back home because they started (in the first factory in Fray Bentos) during the Second World War. Now they're in the shops here. When I was in Southampton people showed me that."

Rather than cook tinned pies, though, he regularly lights up the barbecue on the Rockliffe Hall complex for many of his team-mates.

Ramirez said: “Many of the players live here at Rockliffe, six or seven players … Cristhian (Stuani), Bernardo (Espinosa), Antonio (Barragan) … I like to be at home and to cook with my family. Sometimes we go out to Newcastle too.

“The barbecue is the speciality, it doesn't matter about the weather. English people don't like to do barbecues when it rains, but for us it doesn't matter. We can find Uruguayan meats in London, Argentine meats and Brazilian.”

Occasionally the Middlesbrough playmaker puts fish on the grill, often caught by himself although he has not found anywhere to do that since moving to the North-East for the first time in January. He still feels at home though.

“Fray Bentos is a small place, there's not much to do there. There's a river, I like to fish when I do go back,” said Ramirez. “Not here. Not in England.

“When I was young, I tended to just play football every day. Many children were around. Then I moved to Montevideo when I was 16 and signed for Penarol, I stayed there for three years before I moved to Italy.”

He was part of the Uruguay squad at Copa America and has developed a friendship with Barcelona’s Luis Suarez. Ramirez said: “He's fantastic. When you play with him you feel like he's a star player.

“Every time he touches it he sets up a chance to score. It's amazing. Not just Suarez but Cavani, Godin, Gimenez, they are big players who play for big teams. It's good for us and we are doing really well in this World Cup qualification.

“Luis’s a very nice guy. He is actually quiet. We drink Mate (traditional South American caffeine infused drink) together every day before and after training. We have a group chat on Whatsapp. We are always in touch, congratulating him when he scores a goal - that is a lot!”

Ramirez still feels he has a lot to improve on to reach the levels he wants, having struggled to make an impact in the Premier League during his spells with Southampton and Hull City. At Middlesbrough, ahead of this afternoon’s visit of Bournemouth, he feels more comfortable and expects to shine, particularly after impressing at Arsenal last Saturday on the left.

He said: “The first six months over here I felt I played well but then never got the chances. If you have the chance to play and don’t perform, you are like “OK, it’s my fault”. So it is frustrating to not get the chance to show how good you are.

“Here I definitely have a better chance. I am enjoying that. I want to make the fans here happy. They are paying good money to watch us and I just want to help Middlesbrough get better and stronger in the Premier League.”