Marc Vogel is a travelin’ man with a travelin’ pan — a 45-inch paella pan that has seen the world. Vogel is a San Francisco-based chef with a varied resume. He has a blog, produces cooking videos, cooks for charity events. Primarily, he says, he appears at special events around the world, lately making paella on a large scale. "I’ve probably done about 50 of them." He and his giant pan have been to cities in South America and Europe, and now to Maui.

Vogel was at the Martin Lawrence Galleries in Lahaina Saturday for a VIP party celebrating an exhibit of works by Spanish painter Felix Mas. Gallery director John Atanasio says 50 or 60 people partook of what he called a "spectacular" paella. "I thought it would be great to honor a Spanish master from Barcelona with this kind of event." (Mas’ work will be on display through Sunday; call 808-661-1788.)

Paella became Vogel’s thing about nine years ago while working on a film project in Toledo, Spain, where he acquired his first large pan. He now has three and, depending on need, can prep paella for 85 to 130 people at once.

The beauty of the dish, he says, is that it has no rules and can accommodate a variety of ingredients from pork to seafood. Or it can be vegetarian. "There’s nothing sacred. You get the fresh food that’s indigenous to the area." In South Africa he once used native wild asparagus. Here he used Maui onions, locally grown bell peppers and parsley, Portuguese sausage and a sausage made with pineapple.

His tips: Sauté all your ingredients first, then add stock and rice. And don’t bother with expensive arborio rice. He uses a Calrose rice that he buys at Costco, and says it absorbs all the flavors nicely.

Sounds simple enough. Here’s his formula for a basic seafood version, scaled down to a size of pan you’re more likely to have at your house:

MARC’S SEAFOOD PAELLA

4 whole lobsters or crabs

2 tablespoons salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup medium-grain rice such as Homai, produced by Calrose, widely available in supermarkets

1/4 cup fresh green peas

1 cup diced tomato

1 teaspoon saffron threads

4 cups fish stock

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 pound small clams

2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and cleaned

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add lobster or crab and salt; cook 3 minutes at rolling boil. Break into pieces. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in paella pan or large skillet. When pan is very hot, add onion, garlic and bell peppers; sauté a few minutes. Add wine and deglaze pan (scrape up any bits stuck to pan).

Add rice, peas, tomato, saffron and fish stock; bring to a boil. Cover (use foil if pan has no lid) and place in oven; bake 15 minutes.

Arrange shrimp, clams, mussels and cooked crab or lobster pieces (leave shells on) over top of rice. Cover and cook additional 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes, covered, until all moisture is absorbed.

Just before serving add lemon juice, the zests, green onion and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on using lobster and weighing shellfish in shell): 500 calories, 14 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 200 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,200 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 46 g protein

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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write "By Request," Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.