The Start menu is comprised of three sections: Pinned, All apps, and Recommended. The Start menu contains shortcuts of all your apps, settings, and files.
Microsoft separated the Start menu into its own process, called StartMenuExperienceHost.exe. This has a number of benefits, including simplifying debugging and insulating Start from potential issues impacting other surfaces.
This will allow you restart the Start menu as needed without having to restart the explorer.exe process.
Restarting the StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process can be helpful if the Start menu will not open, frozen, or acting buggy.
This tutorial will show you how to restart the StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process to restart the Start menu as needed for your account in Windows 11.