Preheat your oven to 400 F, line a cookie sheet with foil.

Toss your chopped carrots and celery in the 1/2 cup olive oil, black pepper and salt.

Cut the top off the bulb of garlic so that you expose the cloves, drizzle a little olive oil over the cut top and wrap with foil, leaving a little room to it allow room to steam while it roasts.

Put your bulb pouch in the middle of your sheet pan, single layer your carrots and celery around it. Put this in your oven.

Roast the veg for 35 minutes.

While the veg roasts, melt your butter in a large thick bottomed pan (a soup kettle works best), once melted and simmering add your onions. Infuse your butter with the onions for 5-8 minutes, stirring often. Add the flour slowly, allowing it to combine between additions.

Its very important once you start adding flour that you do not stop stirring or you could end up with burnt bits or lumps.

Once your rue starts to deepen in color, roughly 10-15 minutes, add your first carton of stock. Mix well, then add the rest of the stock. Mix your cream of celery with 3 cups water, then add to the stock mixture.

Note: its important to thin the cream soup prior to adding it, otherwise youll have clumps.

Add 5 bay leaves, the thyme, ginger and white pepper.

Wait out out your veg timer with your broth on medium heat.

Once the veg timer goes off, set the garlic bulb bundle aside and add the roasted carrots and celery directly to the soup.

Carefully squeeze the cloves out of your garlic bulb onto a clean cutting board and make a paste of them (i do this by hand with the flat of a chefs knife, in a smash and scrape method, or in a mortor and pestle). Once smooth(ish) add the garlic paste to your soup.

Add your shredded chicken and cook for 5minutes on low-medium heat, covered.

Taste and adjust to your preferance, normally i need to add a little salt at this point, but this should be to your taste not mine!

Finally your starch, during the last 5 minutes i will normally add a thick egg noodle, about half a large bag gives more then enough. This could also be served over rice.