CHUCKING IT: Isidingo actor Motlatsi Mafatshe puts the product to the projectile test Picture: THYS DULLAART

'Some things should just be home-made. It's like trying to make ready made pap'

Soap opera fans will recognise Mafatshe as Sechaba on the popular soap Isidingo. Mafatshe describes Sechaba as "fiery, ghetto and loud".

"He is an instigator with his own way of thinking," he says.

Some would struggle to play such a vivacious character, but for Mafatshe, the character came at exactly the right time.

"It's not hard for me to play the role of Sechaba because I have been in the industry for a while," he says. "The role came at a time when I felt I was good enough to play any role that came my way."

The Soweto-born actor says there are similarities between himself and Sechaba. "We both get things done. We fight for what we want."

Mafatshe did some hard work to gain his position in the industry. He graduated from the AFDA film school in 2006 with honours in live performance.

"I didn't do any theatre before acting on screen. Music is actually my first love. People say my style of singing and brand of music is a bit like John Legend, Robin Thicke and Lil Wayne."

When he is not playing a ghetto go-getter on Isidingo, Mafatshe works on his debut album, which we can expect to hear next year. "It will be a funk, rhythm and blues album. There is a bit of the Frank Sinatra vibe in it as well as some Lil Wayne inspired 'auto-tune'."

Surely being a crooner who has been compared with international names like John Legend has its perks?

"I was the number-one-hit man at varsity. I used to go and play the piano, and the next thing I knew, there were four or five girls around me 'ooing' and 'ahhing'."

Other than Isidingo, Mafatshe has acted on the Emmy award-nominated series, Home Affairs, as well as When We Were Black, which won the student academy award for best foreign film.

But, today, his performing skills take a back seat to his tasting skills as he puts chakalaka, a dish he is familiar with, to the test.

First, he tries Pick n Pay's Hot & Spicy Chakalaka. "It's spicy, but not hot. It's far too oily and tastes like a student made it. It definitely doesn't taste home made. It wouldn't work as a side dish. It needs to be mixed with something else."

Next, he tries the Koo Hot & Spicy Chakalaka. "It looks nice. But the beans take away from the chakalaka, they take the 'laka' out of it."

The third product to be tried is Miami's Hot Chakalaka. "It might taste better if it was warm. It's not hot like it claims to be. It's also far too oily."

The last contender is All Gold's Hot & Spicy Chakalaka. "It's horrible. I can't taste the individual ingredients, just one herb."

It turns out Mafatshe's mother is to blame for his disdain. "My mother makes the best chakalaka. You can taste each ingredient. Selling chakalaka in a can doesn't work. Some things should just be home-made. It's like trying to make ready-made pap."

But after giving it much thought, Mafatshe eventually declares Koo's chakalaka the best of the bunch.