I have made split pea soup a few times, but cannot get the nice flavor
that when I get it at the restaurants, not sure what I am missing in my
recipe.

this is my recipe in a crock pot
2 qts water
1 lb dried split peas
2 carrots chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 onion sliced
some salt & pepper
1 small ham hock
1 bay leaf

after 8hrs I remove the ham hock and take the meat off the bone, then I
use a stick blender, let it cool and scoop off the layer of fat on the
top of the soup and add the ham pcs it's not bad, but there is a smokey
flavor missing.