In a large pot, brown the bacon pieces and smoked sausage. Remove and set aside. Lightly season the chicken pieces with your favorite Creole seasoning blend. Once the bacon and smoked sausage are done, add the chicken pieces to the rendered fat from the bacon and sausage and brown working on batches, if needed. Remove and set aside.
In the same pot (preferably a cast iron pot), make a dark roux with the olive oil and flour. Be patient, this could take up to 30 or more minutes. You want a nice dark chocolate color.
Once the roux is at the right color, add the onions, green bell peppers, and celery to the pot and continue to stir for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir from 2 minutes. Add the seasonings to the pot and keep stirring for another 3 minutes.
Return the sausage, bacon, chicken, and thawed okra to the pot. Cover everything with the chicken stock, which should be about 8 cups. Raise the TEMP to HIGH and bring the pot to a boil; reduce heat to MED and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 30-minutes.
Remove the chicken from the pot and reduce the heat to LOW. Let the chicken cool for about 5 minutes then remove the meat from the bones, discarding the bones. Also, remove the 3 bay leaves from the pot, then return the chicken meat back to the pot. Adjust the flavor of the gumbo with salt and pepper before serving.
To serve, ladle the gumbo in a bowl and top with either hot cooked white rice or potato salad. Garnish with chopped green onions. Offer hot sauce and file powder at the table. Enjoy!