Toast the oats and almonds. Set your frying pan over medium heat and add the rolled oats and flaked almonds. Stir them constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, until the oats smell nutty and warm and the almonds turn a light golden brown at the edges. You'll hear a faint crackling as they toast — that's your cue to take them off the heat straight away. Tip them onto a plate to cool so they stay crisp.

Whip the cottage cheese base. In a mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Stir firmly for about a minute. The mixture should shift from lumpy and separate to smooth, glossy and slightly thickened — a bit like loose whipped cream. Taste it now: it should be gently sweet with a bright lift from the lemon.

Check the texture. If your cottage cheese is on the chunky side and you'd prefer a silkier bowl, blitz the base briefly with a stick blender or in a food processor. Stop as soon as it looks uniform — over-blending makes it gluey.

Prepare the berries. Slice the strawberries into rounds about half a centimetre thick. Leave the blueberries and raspberries whole so they burst pleasantly against the creamy base. If your strawberries look pale, toss them with a teaspoon of honey and let them sit for five minutes — they'll darken to a deep, jewel red and release a little syrup.

Build the bowls. Spoon the cottage cheese mixture into four bowls, dividing it evenly. It should sit in soft, billowy mounds rather than spread flat.

Top with fruit and crunch. Arrange the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and banana slices over the top in whatever pattern pleases you. Scatter over the toasted oats, almonds and chia seeds. Finish with a thin drizzle of honey.

Serve immediately. The bowls are at their best within ten minutes of assembly, while the oats are still crunchy and the banana hasn't begun to brown. If you're serving family-style, set everything out on the table and let everyone build their own.