Velvet celery soup

Wash the celery thoroughly; save some leaves for garnish.

Trim the celery tops and bottoms and chop the stalks, saving the trimmings for stock. Trim the leek, chop the white part and save the greens and bottom for stock.

Soak the cut leek in water, wash thoroughly and drain.

Make a veggie stock from the scraps with a bay leaf, thyme, parsley stems, peppercorns and water.

Smash and peel the garlic, remove the germ and chop roughly.

Heat a cast-iron Dutch oven or large pot and slice the bacon (partially frozen bacon is easier to cut).

Saute the bacon with butter until brown, add the garlic and cook five minutes.

Add the celery and cook another 10 minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock and the veggie stock; bring to a boil on high heat.

Cover and cook 30 minutes on low heat at a simmer.

Blend in a high-powered blender, adding more fat such as butter or olive oil if wanted.

Pass through a fine sieve to remove the fibers; season.

Blend again right before serving and garnish with chives, diced cooked egg white, mimosa yolk and bacon.