Linode have stackscripts, so you actually could do without Chef with a well structured bash script. I have asked Digital Ocean about the possibility for Stacks

Linode have stackscripts, so you actually could do without Chef with a well structured bash script. I have asked Digital Ocean about the possibility for Stackscripts, and I don't think they have planned for it, sadly. It is nice to order a server, choose a stackscript, and have a server to deploy to without even logging in on the instance.