Dice the bacon and render the fat In a large stockpot. Saute bacon over medium heat until crispy, remove from pan Drain on paper towels, set aside.
Dice the onion and celery. Peel and dice the carrots and potatoes.
Drain the clams, reserving the juice. Roughly chop the clams, set aside
In the same pot used to cook the bacon, drain off a bit of the oil. Add the butter then add onion, celery and carrots to the pot and saute over medium heat until softened about 3 minutes.
Stir in the flour & mix it well with the softened veggies, season with salt, pepper, garlic and chili powder - cook for 2 minutes.
Now add the chicken stock and the juice from the 2 cans of chopped clams, and potatoes. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Stirring often, cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
When the potatoes are tender, add the cream, clams and bacon. Heat thru and taste the seasonings. Depending on how salty the bacon is you may need to add an additional ½ teaspoon of salt.