Might want to spoiler-tag that.
Yea, and what is in Esmeralda's cellar? Pixel-hunting. The only reason I didn't get stumped was because I was picking up every bit of food anyway. None of the steps in that whole chain requires cleverness, only mindless searching.
1.) I hid it already prior to your post.
2.) That is your opinion. I thought the quest line was clever.
And yes, being perceptive is part of a puzzle as well.
Besides only 5 pieces of meat had to be moved/stolen to show the switch to the secret room. Furthermore you can zoom in so calling it pixil huntin while you can zoom in is a bit comical.