Nick Digiovanni wants to be the #1 culinary content creator on YouTube. And his channel is in fact one of the biggest: It has over 22 million subscribers, brings north of 400 million views a month, and its library includes collaborations with dozens of celebrities and fellow creators, including Gordon Ramsay, Ryan Trahan, and the late Lynja.

So why did he choose to launch a new channel?

Last Friday, Nick’s Kitchen popped up on YouTube with a 10-minute video showing viewers how to make the perfect mac and cheese. This upload is different from Digiovanni’s usual content; it’s slower-paced and softer-lit, lingering on the moment-by-moment details. It looks more like a Food Network program, with an aproned Digiovanni moving gently around a meticulously decorated kitchen set.

The shift is similar to what we’ve seen from other longtime creators like Rhett & Link, who recently launched their high-production series Wonderhole. The show was a risk,...