May 29, 2026 – 4.00pmMegan Bowditch’s alarm goes off at 1am. Forty-five minutes later, the French-trained pastry chef is inside Prove Patisserie, pulling on her monogrammed apron and folding a chilled block of butter into dough with the help of a fully depreciated $15,000 sheeter. By 5am, her award-winning croissants and pastries are out of the oven and in boxes bound for customers around Adelaide.“Rolling the dough is hard manual labour,” Bowditch says. “But it also requires precision and finesse.”Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Daniel ArbonDeputy newsletter editorDaniel Arbon is deputy newsletter editor for The Australian Financial Review. Email Daniel at daniel.arbon@nine.com.auFetching latest articles